Vivendi seeks 4.5 bln euro loan for Zain buy

By Zaida Espana and Tessa Walsh

LONDON (Reuters) - French media and telecoms giant Vivendi (VIV.PA) is seeking a 4.5 billion euro ($6.26 billion) syndicated loan to back its acquisition of a majority stake in Zain Group's (ZAIN.KW) African telecoms operations, bankers said.

Vivendi is currently exploring all options to finance the potential deal, which includes loan, bond and equity issues.

Vivendi has sent a request for proposals to banks for a bridge loan with a maturity of up to two years that would be refinanced by a combination of bond and equity issues.

The initial bridge loan, which would consist of three 1.5 billion euro tranches, is likely to be provided by a group of five or six banks on a club basis.

Calyon is advising Vivendi on the acquisition and BNP Paribas and UBS are advising Zain on the disposal, bankers said.

Vivendi is seeking to strike a hard bargain with its bankers with an initial interest margin on the 12 and 18 month tranches of around 125 basis points (bps) over EURIBOR, while a two-year tranche will pay around 150 bps.

The margin will then increase by around 25 bps every three months to encourage Vivendi to refinance the bridge loan. Pricing is also linked to the company's rating.

The French media and telecoms group, a well-known loan market borrower, said on Thursday it was committed to keeping its BBB credit rating intact and maintaining its dividend at current levels.