Cell C had raised $530 million (about R4.2 billion) to expand its network through a project finance deal arranged by US-based investment bank Citigroup, Paul Doany, a director of the mobile operator, said yesterday.
Included in the deal was a $100 million facility for Cell C's black empowerment partner, CellSAf, making it one of the largest empowerment funding deals in the telecoms sector, Doany said.
Cell C is wholly owned by 3C Telecommunications, which is 60 percent owned by Oger Telecom South Africa, a division of Saudi Oger, and 40 percent by CellSAf.
The facility will be used by CellSAf to pay for its equity, which, Doany said, was in excess of the government's requirement of 30 percent black economic empowerment for the telecoms sector.
The funds would be used to roll out the network, meet its working capital and capital expenditure needs, and cover the costs of acquiring new subscribers, Doany said.
