Banks Said to Reject Saudi Telecom Bid to Resolve Debt Issue - Bloomberg

Banks Said to Reject Saudi Telecom Bid to Resolve Debt Issue - Bloomberg:

"Banks rejected a Saudi Telecom Co. plan to resolve a dispute over a missed payment on a $4.75 billion loan at a Turkish unit, prolonging a five-month impasse on the debt, people with knowledge of the matter said. The lenders turned down the plan because it involved taking a loss on the loan, three people said, asking not to be identified because talks are private. Saudi Telecom’s plan envisaged lending about $160 million to its Otas unit -- which missed the payment -- and also buying a direct stake in the business, they said. At present, the Saudi company only owns an indirect stake in Otas. Otas -- which owns 55 percent of Turk Telekom -- failed to make a $290 million repayment in September on the loan, Turkey’s biggest syndicated borrowing. A slump in the lira led to a decline in the dollar value of dividends Otas receives from the phone company and had counted on to help repay the loan, a person with knowledge of the matter said in October."



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