IFC approves $400m loan for PTCL

KARACHI: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved a loan of $400 million to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) to fund its acquisition of a major telecom firm, ARY News reported.

As per details, the loan is part of a seven-year financial agreement with a one-year grace period.

The IFC-led consortium includes the Silk Road Fund and British investors.

The agreement was signed on June 27, 2024, in Karachi, and the loan will be repaid in installments over three years.

Last year, PTCL signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with the shareholders of Telenor Pakistan to buy 100% of TPL’s shares, based on an enterprise value of Rs108 billion.

READ: PTCL acquires Pakistan’s major telecom firm for Rs108bn

The deal will be done on a cash-free, debt-free basis and PTCL will fund the acquisition through external debt that it will raise.

Telenor Pakistan is a leading mobile operator serving 45 million subscribers with reported revenue of Rs112 billion and EBITDA margin of 43% based on the last twelve months (LTM) September 2023 financial reporting.

PTCL’s major assets include Ufone, a mobile operator in Pakistan with over 20 million customers.

Telenor Group said in a press release that the sale is part of its strategy to build scale and market-leading players in Asia, as presented at the 2022 Capital Markets Day. It concludes the strategic review of the telco operations in Pakistan, which was announced in July 2022.