Fitch affirms Etisalat

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Emirates Telecommunications Corp.'s (Etisalat) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at A+.

The outlook is stable.

Etisalat said it updated its preliminary conditional offer to buy a 51% stake in telecom operator Zain for about $12 billion. The offer is binding, but many of the details of the transaction and its funding are undetermined, Fitch said.

The agency said it expects the company's management will maintain a conservative financial policy even after this sizeable transaction, with a maximum gross debt-to-EBITDA of 2.5x.

Fitch also cautioned that there will be limited headroom in the current rating after this transaction closes and any other sizeable transaction in India may put pressure on the rating level.

But the agency said it does take comfort from the U.A.E. government's 60% ownership of Etisalat and its past support.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.