Pan Africa Tower, PAT, a digital telecommunications infrastructure company and wireless service facilitator has issued SPV PLC’s NGN10.0 billion 10-Year Series I Senior Guaranteed Fixed Rate Infrastructure Bonds Due 2032 (the “PAT Series I Bonds” or “Bonds”) under the N50 billion Debt Issuance Programme.
The special-purpose funding vehicle established by Pan African Towers Limited (PAT) as part of the company’s capital-raising plan is backed by InfraCredit, a specialized infrastructure credit guarantee institution.
For the transaction, FCMB Capital Markets Limited acted as Lead Issuing House/Bookrunner and Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited, FSL Securities Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited acted as Joint Issuing Houses and Bookrunners
What they are saying
Chairman of Pan African Towers Limited, Wole Adeleke, in a statement said, “PAT’s ambition is to be the number 1 indigenous wholly-owned digital telecommunications infrastructure and wireless service facilitator in Nigeria. In the last 3 years that we commenced business, we have demonstrated capacity to achieve faster growth in the number of our rental assets, with solid top and bottom-line performance supported by long-term contracts with leading market leaders in mobile telecommunication and internet service in Nigeria.
“And we are pleased that InfraCredit was able to provide full credit enhancement for this debut Bond Issuance programme. We are very passionate about the environment and part of the proceeds from the Bond Issue will be utilized to green our network of Build-to-Suite Towers to reduce carbon emission; an objective that aligns with that of our major customers.”
Also speaking on the development, Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike said, “We are pleased to have supported Pan African Towers, Nigeria’s fast-growing indigenous digital infrastructure service provider’s first naira issuance in the local debt capital markets for expansion and growth that will also reduce its carbon emissions. We are also proud to support the ambitions of Nigeria’s National Development Plan to facilitate the formation of private capital investments in digital infrastructure that will accelerate job creation and local economic growth.
“The need for digital connectivity is more essential than ever as Nigeria accounts for over 27% of all internet usage in Africa, and much of this internet access are powered by telecommunication infrastructure service providers like PAT. This transaction strongly demonstrates the especially important role of the local pension funds in the allocation of long-term domestic credit to the private sector for sustainable development.”
What you should know
- The Bond issue was oversubscribed by 127% by ten institutional investors, including domestic pension funds and insurance companies.
- The Bond proceeds are expected to be used for financing the roll-out of new environmentally friendly tower sites to enhance telecommunication coverage and service quality, especially in underserved communities.
- PAT aims to apply some of the proceeds towards reducing carbon footprint in the sector by swapping out diesel generators with renewable energy sources.
- The Bonds were priced off the yield on the comparable FGN Sovereign Bonds, providing a unique opportunity for pension fund managers to diversify their portfolios with “AAA”-rated, risk-adjusted return yielding assets.
