Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) says it has entered into a refinance agreement with a syndicate of lenders to provide R3.5 billion of corporate debt facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemand for fibre to the business (FTTB) has been steadily increasing and funding institutions have recognised this,\u201d said Thinus Mulder, CFO at DFA.<\/p>\n
In March, the DFA, which constructs and owns fibre-optic networks, reported a 35% rise in revenue for the six months ending September 2013, to R409 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are pleased to be receiving this refinancing from a syndicate of lenders made up of existing and new funders,\u201d Mulder said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funds will be used to replace our project finance funding and invest in new infrastructure in order to meet the growing demand for fibre infrastructure across South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
The refinancing consists of R1 billion of general banking facilities and revolving credit facilities, together with a series of three-, four-, five- and six-year term loans amounting to R2.2 billion, provided by a syndicate of lenders.<\/p>\n
The syndicate of lenders includes banks, financial institutions and development funding agencies, namely:<\/p>\n
\u201cDFA, which was established in 2007, has grown considerably over the years and has now outgrown its project finance facilities,\u201d said Mulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe refinancing will enable DFA to achieve its main goals of diversifying our providers of debt funding, allow for greater financial flexibility and substantially reduce our financing costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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