Africa Loans

Local lenders flooded into mobile telecommunications firm MTN Côte d’Ivoire’s $225m-equivalent loan in West African francs, leaving it almost twice subscribed.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has completed refinancing on $500m of loans, reducing its costs with the help of a World Bank guarantee.

Oil products storage and distribution firm Puma Energy has increased the size of its latest revolver to $800m from $500m, with 35 lenders making commitments. The company has also managed to extend the maturity on part of a three year facility raised last year.

French firm Fnac will imminently launch syndication of its loan to buy retailer Darty, after winning a bidding war with South Africa's Steinhoff. Meanwhile, banks supplying a £920m loan for the thwarted rival await instructions.

The £920m loan for Steinhoff’s bid for Darty remains in place, although the South African firm has been outbid by French retailer Fnac.

Standard Chartered has picked a new head of syndicated loans for Africa, after moving its syndicated loans unit into its corporate finance division.

China's growing presence in Africa is nothing new. But Asian banks are finally coming to the continent's loan market with big tickets and this is not the time for other lenders to sit on their hands.

Development banks will be the most active borrowers in African loans this year, as appetite from international banks to lend directly to African borrowers wanes, according to market participants.

Although the deal has taken longer than planned, the $150m loan for Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) will be increased following strong demand from Chinese banks, according to a banker on the deal.

Standard Bank of South Africa has grown its loan from $600m to $1bn in syndication, largely driven by demand from the four Chinese lenders in lead roles.

Steinhoff International, the South African furniture maker and goods retailer that has been on an acquisition spree, raised €1.1bn on Thursday with a convertible bond that bucked the recent trend of deals that have struggled, partly because it was the kind of simple, traditional structure investors like.

South African furniture retailer Steinhoff International has nearly completed syndication of its £920m loan to buy French retailer Darty, according to a banker close to the deal.