RLPC-Orascom Telecom loan pays LIB+200 bps margin-source

LONDON, March 5 - Egyptian Orascom Telecom's (ORTE.CA) (ORTEq.L) $2.5 billion, five-year secured syndicated loan pays an initial margin of 200 basis points (bps) over LIBOR, a banker said on Wednesday.

The margin is linked to the borrower's leverage ratio and ranges from 150 bps to 250 bps. Banks are invited to commit various amounts to the deal, and the highest $100 million commitment level pays an upfront fee of 100 bps.

Orascom Telecom announced on Sunday it had launched syndication of the $2.5 billion loan, which will be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance a $2.56 billion loan signed in 2006. That deal paid a margin of 275 bps.

The borrower added that 12 banks had underwritten the new loan as mandated lead arrangers, confirming an earlier report by Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.

The mandated lead arrangers are Banque Misr, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Calyon, HSBC, ING, JP Morgan, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Egypt, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and WestLB.

(Reporting by Christopher Mangham, editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)