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By David French and Archana Narayanan
DUBAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Dubai-based pay-TV company OSN has signed a $400 million five-year loan, two banking sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, with the cash to be used for general business purposes and to refinance existing debt.
The facility is split into two parts -- a $255 million term loan and a $145 million revolving credit facility, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is not public.
OSN operates subscription television services across the Middle East and North Africa and is owned by Kuwait Projects Company
OSN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The term loan has an amortising structure, according to one source, which means the principal of the facility is paid down during its lifetime, as opposed to the borrower only servicing the interest payments and paying the full amount off at the end.
The amortising starts on March 31, 2016, the source said.
Pricing is dependent on various clauses in the loan documentation, such as how much of the cash is utilised by the company, but ranges from around 175 basis points (bps) to 225 bps over benchmark rates on the term loan and 165 bps to 215 bps on the revolver, the source added.
According to the two sources, the banks backing the transaction are Barclays, Mashreq, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, HSBC, National Bank of Kuwait, Societe Generale, First Gulf Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan.
The first six lenders were also present on OSN's debut syndicated loan facility in 2013, which raised $200 million.
(Editing by David Evans) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: OSN LOANS/
DUBAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Dubai-based pay-TV company OSN has signed a $400 million five-year loan, two banking sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, with the cash to be used for general business purposes and to refinance existing debt.
The facility is split into two parts -- a $255 million term loan and a $145 million revolving credit facility, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is not public.
OSN operates subscription television services across the Middle East and North Africa and is owned by Kuwait Projects Company
OSN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The term loan has an amortising structure, according to one source, which means the principal of the facility is paid down during its lifetime, as opposed to the borrower only servicing the interest payments and paying the full amount off at the end.
The amortising starts on March 31, 2016, the source said.
Pricing is dependent on various clauses in the loan documentation, such as how much of the cash is utilised by the company, but ranges from around 175 basis points (bps) to 225 bps over benchmark rates on the term loan and 165 bps to 215 bps on the revolver, the source added.
According to the two sources, the banks backing the transaction are Barclays, Mashreq, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, HSBC, National Bank of Kuwait, Societe Generale, First Gulf Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan.
The first six lenders were also present on OSN's debut syndicated loan facility in 2013, which raised $200 million.
(Editing by David Evans) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: OSN LOANS/
