Bulletin
Netia signs a mandate letter regarding new financing for potential acquisitions and terminates the existing credit facility
Netia announced today that it signed a mandate letter with Rabobank Polska S.A., Raiffeisen Bank Polska S.A. and BRE Bank S.A. for arrangement of new financing for a potential market consolidating acquisition within the telecommunications sector in Poland.
In parallel, effective from August 5, 2010 Netia terminated its existing loan facilities totalling PLN 295 million, provided by Rabobank Polska S.A. Raiffeisen Bank Polska S.A., Bank Millennium S.A. and Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej S.A. since 2007.
Mirosław Godlewski, Netia’s CEO, commented: “Netia’s broadband-driven strategy assumes both organic growth and acquisitions. Netia aspires to play an active role as a consolidator of the Polish telecommunications market, which is visibly reflected in today’s agreement to arrange new financing, considered by the Management sufficient to fund a major in-market acquisition by the Company. The highly successful acquisition of Tele2 Polska in 2008 and its full integration into the Netia group serves as a good example of our earlier activities in the M&A field. In addition to the financing, we have signed agreements with the investment banking consortium of Raiffeisen Investment and Lazard and, separately, with Rabobank Corporate Advisory, for financial advisory in relation to potential disposal processes of selected telecommunications assets in Poland.”
Jon Eastick, Netia’s CFO, added: “Netia’s present organic growth strategy, including our program of Ethernet acquisitions, can be fully financed from cash resources at our disposal. Netia has been generating free cash flows for over a year and from 2010 we entered into a path of stable profitability at the net result level. Nevertheless, the agreement signed today can provide us with highly flexible financing should any opportunities for major in-market acquisitions in the telecommunications sector become feasible.
Management is also pleased to be continuing its longstanding cooperation with Rabobank and Raiffeisen, who have supported Netia throughout its broadband-driven expansion and welcomes BRE Bank in its group of core banking relationships.”