GTB, Access, Zenith set to take over Etisalat over N541.8bn debt

 The telecom giant which commenced business in Nigeria in 2009 is said to be engulfed in the loan in 2015, which involved a foreign-backed guaranty bond that would have enabled it to finance a major network rehabilitation and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria.

However, following the failure of the company to meet its debt servicing schedule agreed since 2016, the three Nigerian banks, prodded by their foreign partners, reported Etisalat to banking sector regulator, CBN, and its communications sector counterpart, the NCC.

Although Etisalat blamed its inability to fulfil its obligation to the banks on the current economic recession in Nigeria, the banks said their attempt to recover the loan by all means was fuelled by the pressure from the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, demanding immediate cut down on the rate of their non-performing loans.

However, Metrobusinessnews gathered that despite the intervention of the NCC, to broker a peaceful resolution between Etisalat Nigeria and the consortium of banks, it appears the effort may not have yielded a truce, as the banks are set to take over the telecoms firm today.

A senior official of one of the banks who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES late on Tuesday said one of the options they have proposed to Etisalat management as a middle way out of the crisis was for it to request for a bankruptcy status.

The official, who requested that his name should not be revealed, since he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the consortium, said the bankruptcy option would require having receivership management appointed by the banks to oversee its operations.

But, the NCC appears not to be favourably disposed to the takeover proposal, the source said, as it believes Etisalat was not only a viable going concern, but also willing and able to negotiate its loan servicing.