Mobile telecoms operator, Etisalat Nigeria, got reprieve on
Friday following a breakthrough in its negotiations with three Nigerian banks
that threatened to take over the business over a $1.72 billion (about N541.8
billion) loan.
At the end
of the talks on Friday held at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN office in
Lagos, at the instance of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, the
creditor consortium of banks were prevailed upon to reconsider their demands
and halt their attempt to take over Etisalat.
Spokesperson
of the NCC, Tony Ojobo, described the meeting as “very productive and
constructive”, saying Friday’s meeting succeeded in halting the attempt by
Etisalat’s creditors at bringing it under any form of takeover and develop a
restructured repayment plan.
“Receivership
was completely taken off the table in a meeting that was very productive and constructive,”
Mr. Ojobo said in a statement.
He said
during the meeting, the banks and the mobile network operator agreed actions
that would bring all parties closest to a resolution.
“The CBN
and NCC were able to secure for Etisalat the necessary oxygen to enable it
continue to meet urgent operational expenses,” Mr. Ojobo said.
The NCC
spokesperson said the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who presided over the
meeting, was firm in his declaration about what needed to be done by both
parties towards a quick resolution of the crisis.
Although
Mr. Emefiele did not give details on those things that need to be done to
resolve the crisis, the NCC equally made it clear that parties involved must
ensure they did everything necessary to protect the 23 million Etisalat
subscribers and the telecoms industry, to prevent scaring away potential
investors.
Mr. Ojobo
said to ensure that Etisalat remained in business, while the consortium of
banks continued to meet their obligations to their customers, another meeting
was scheduled for March 16 to agree on a payment restructuring path on the
repayment of the loan going forward.
Besides, he said the NCC would also lead the CBN in a crucial
meeting with Etisalat’s shareholders anytime soon to continue to explore ways
to resolve the crisis
Following a meeting in Abuja on Thursday between the
Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Umar Danbatta and the Mr. Emefiele, it was
resolved that another meeting be convened to deliberate on how best to stave
off the attempt by the banks to take over Etisalat.
The meeting had also agreed to invite Etisalat management and
the affected banks to a crucial meeting on Friday, to find an amicable
resolution of the crisis.
The consortium of some foreign and Nigerian banks, including
Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank, had threatened to take over
Etisalat after it defaulted in its debt servicing obligation agreed since 2016.
The loan, obtained in 2015, involved a foreign-backed
guaranteed bond for Etisalat to use in financing a major network rehabilitation
and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria.
But, the company’s continued failure to meet the repayment
schedule angered the banks into threatening to take over the company.
Etisalat had blamed its inability to fulfill its obligations
to the banks on the current economic recession in Nigeria.
Although the NCC had intervened, pleading with the banks to
reconsider their attempt to take over the mobile telecom firm, it became
necessary to involve the CBN to prevail on the banks to come up with
restructured repayment schedule for the loan in the alternative.
source:http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/225839-n541-8-billion-loan-cbn-ncc-get-reprieve-etisalat-avert-takeover.html
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