AXIAN Telecom, the largest mobile money, and telecommunications provider in Africa priced US$420 million Senior Notes due 2027.
The successful pricing of the bond, which launched yesterday on Wednesday 9th February 2022, was supported by anchor orders from development finance institutions CDC, DEG, EAIF, and IFC. From initial price thoughts of “high 7s” the transaction priced at 7.375%, being a successful outcome for a debut African issuer compared to peers, especially in a context of recent market volatility.
The order book was eventually 2.2x oversubscribed with half investors from the US. The funds raised are intended to finance the repayment of certain existing debts, as well as general corporate purposes to support AXIAN Telecom’s growth.
This achievement paves the way for other African champions to tap international Debt Capital Markets, to mobilize investments that will benefit the continent and its people, by Africans, for Africans.
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J.P. Morgan, Standard Bank, and Société Générale acted as Global coordinators, Latham & Watkins as issuer counsel and White & Case as bank counsel.
“This success transaction reflects AXIAN Telecom ́s resilient and diversified business model, based on mobile & fixed, infrastructure and digital operations. This financing will support our vision to serve and impact positively the populations in our country of operations, accelerating digital transformation and inclusion”. Hassanein Hiridjee, AXIAN Telecom Chairman and Founder.
ABOUT AXIAN TELECOM
AXIAN Telecom is a pan-African telecommunications services provider operating in eight* markets through its subsidiaries in Tanzania, Madagascar, Togo, Mauritius, and Uganda, and joint ventures in Senegal, Réunion-Mayotte, and Comoros. It operates across three key business segments, providing mobile network services as well as digital infrastructure and mobile financial services.
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AXIAN Telecom serves around 33 million mobile customers* via its subsidiaries and is a market disruptor, having expanded from being a single market player (Madagascar) until 2015 to eight markets today, through active acquisitions and heavy network investments. We systematically ensure that our activities have a lasting and positive impact on the daily lives of millions of people.