Pakistan Mobile Buys Back Debt - Risks Ratings Downgrade

Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) says that its wholly owned Pakistan subsidiary, Pakistan Mobile Communications (PMCL) had brought back US$140 million of its debt at the rate of US$730 per US$1,000.

After settlement and cancellation of the repurchased Notes, PMCL will have repurchased and cancelled US$137,762,000 of debt for roughly US$ 100.6 million of cash. The company said that it had received tenders worth US$153 million of debt to be repaid.

The debt ratings agency, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services recently warned that it considers Pakistan Mobile to be at risk of defaulting on a debt repayment due to its plans to purchase up to US$250 million worth of debt at a discount of 20-30% to the face value.

"If the proposed transaction is completed, we would view it as being tantamount to default for two key reasons," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Yasmin Wirjawan. "First, the offer represents a material discount to the par amount (or face value) of the outstanding issue. Second, we believe Mobilink could face difficulty in servicing its debt obligations or remaining in compliance with its covenants over the next one to two years."

Posted to the site on 10th May 2009