RLPC-Vimpelcom to appoint 8 arrangers for $1 bln loan-bankers
LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Vimpelcom (VIP.N), Russia's second-largest mobile phone operator, will appoint eight banks to arrange a $1 billion, three-year syndicated loan, banking sources close to the deal said.
Barclays, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Commerzbank, SMBC, Standard Bank and WestLB are expected to be appointed next week as mandated lead arrangers on the loan, subject to each bank gaining credit approval, the sources added.
The loan, which will be used for general corporate purposes, will launch to syndication later in September.
Vimpelcom's last loan was a $3.5 billion facility that signed in April. That deal backed the firm's $4.3 billion acquisition of fixed-line operator Golden Telecom.
The loan was split between a $2 billion, three-year syndicated loan that carried a margin of 150 basis points (bps) over LIBOR, and a $1.5 billion, one-year bridge loan that was provided by the mandated lead arrangers and was not syndicated.
Private equity group Alfa and Norway's Telenor (TEL.OL) own strategic stakes in New York-listed Vimpelcom.
(Reporting by Christopher Mangham; editing by Rory Channing)
