Zain's head office in Kuwait

India’s largest telecommunications operator, Bharti Airtel, has finalised US$8,3bn in financing needed for its proposed  acquisition of the Africa assets of Kuwait’s Zain, Bharti said on  Sunday.

“The financing was oversubscribed, with major international  banks committing to underwrite the total amount,” Bharti said in a statement.

Zain accepted a $10,7bn offer from Bharti Airtel in  February to sell most of its Africa businesses as it refocuses on  its home market in the Middle East.

The deal includes $1,7bn of Zain debt, plus $8,3bn  to be paid by Bharti upfront and $700m one year from now,  said a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition  of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.

A consortium of international banks, led by Standard Chartered  Bank, Barclays and the State Bank of India will provide $7,5m in loans, Bharti said.

ANZ, BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole  CIB, HSBC, Singapore’s DBS Group, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and  Sumitomo Mitsui Banking also participated in the  underwriting, it said.

The State Bank of India, India’s largest lender, has agreed to give Bharti up to an additional $1bn equivalent in rupees,  which would also cover transaction costs, the statement said.

The company would not disclose the terms of the loans. Bharti finalised the financing with its board at a meeting  on Saturday and has until 25 March, when the period for exclusive  talks expires, to work out final details and complete due  diligence.

The deal does not include Zain’s holdings in Sudan or Morocco.

It is not clear what steps Bharti will take, if any, to protect  itself against an ongoing legal dispute over Zain’s Nigerian  assets.

A successful closure would make Bharti an even bigger player in the developing world, and offer it some relief from India’s  increasingly crowded market. Faced with declining market share and  slipping revenues at home, Bharti has been trying to replicate its  low-cost business model abroad, but two earlier attempts to merge  with SA’s MTN Group were foiled when talks broke  down.

For Zain, known officially as Mobile Telecommunications Co, the  deal is a chance to cash in on an expansion led by ousted CEO Saad al-Barrak, after a previous attempt to sell the  African holdings failed.

The deal, if successful, would be among the biggest overseas  acquisitions in Indian corporate history. — Erika Kinetz, Sapa-AP