Yahsat secures oversubscription for landmark non-recourse $1.2bn financing

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJsc (Yahsat), the UAE’s first nationally-owned satellite operator and wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), has secured commitments for $1.2bn to finance the Middle East’s first hybrid satellite communications system.

The fourteen-year non-recourse financing is split in to a $1,014m term loan, $100m of stand-by facilities and $80m in debt service reserve letter of credit.

‘We are very pleased with the extremely positive response to the financing for our wholly owned subsidiary. The deal is not only oversubscribed but has very competitive pricing and set structuring benchmarks for the region,’ said Derek Rozycki, Executive Director, Project & Corporate Finance at Mubadala.

‘Yahsat received commitments from leading international and regional banks in excess of $1.6bn for the $1.2bn financing which is testament to the strength of our sponsorship and our strong business model’ said Jassem Mohamed Al Zaabi, CEO of Yahsat.

In May this year Yahsat announced that it is approaching the financial market to raise PPP style project finance funding for its satellites. The first satellite Yahsat 1A is currently being built and will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2010. The second satellite, Yahsat 1B, will follow a few months later in the first half of 2011. Yahsat has already started generating sustainable business through recent long term leases with the UAE Armed Forces and the US company Emerging Markets Communications, Inc., operator of one of the largest teleports facilities in the world.

In the final allocations, 14 banks are participating and the margin on the loan starts at 1.1% and increases to 1.4%.

Tags: Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJsc, Derek Rozycki, Jassem Mohamed Al Zaabi, Mubadala, Yahsat

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Announcements. Stay updated with the latest advertising, media, marketing and PR news from the Middle East through the RSS 2.0 feed!