STC mulling an option to raise stake in Oger Telecom

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) is reportedly considering raising its stake in its 35%-owned subsidiary, Oger Telecom, as it is looking into ways of improving the unit’s debt position, Reuters reports citing sources familiar with the matter. The Lebanese-controlled Oger Telecom – which has interests in Turkey (Turk Telekom) and South Africa (Cell C), plus several internet operations (branded Cyberia) in Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – is negotiating with creditors ahead of its next loan payment deadline in March 2017, after missing a USD300 million payment on a USD4.75 billion loan last month. An unnamed source was cited as saying: ‘Meetings with banks are being carried out now. Efforts are underway to facilitate the restructuring and paying of future debts.’ TeleGeography notes that Oger’s Turkish unit secured the USD4.75 billion syndicated loan in 2013 from a consortium of domestic and international banks to reschedule and refinance debt and pay a dividend.