OSN, a major pay-TV network in the MENA, has “successfully” closed its first syndicated five-year financing facility for $200 million. Mashreq, UAE’s leading financial institution, acted as the sole mandated lead arranger, bookrunner and underwriter for this syndication.

The transaction received an overwhelming response from international and regional banks and was heavily oversubscribed. The participating banks include Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV, Citibank N.A., HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd. and National Bank of Kuwait SAK.

The proceeds of the facility will be utilized by OSN to further grow and strengthen its core business in line with the company’s objective to provide viewers with the ultimate entertainment experience.

Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair, CEO Mashreq, and Faisal Al-Ayyar, chairman of OSN and vice chairman of KIPCO, David Butorac, CEO of OSN and senior officials from the participating banks attended the deal signing ceremony.

Al-Ghurair said: “OSN has been a remarkable growth story, and Mashreq is indeed proud to be associated with one of the most successful businesses in the media sector in the region.

Al-Ayyar said: “The overwhelming response from the financial institutions to our first syndicated financing facility underlines OSN’s robust fundamentals and its tremendous growth potential. We are thankful to Mashreq for its work in managing this process and to the other banks for supporting this facility.”

Julio De Quesada, head of corporate and investment banking group at Mashreq, said: “This successful transaction demonstrates the strong relationship that OSN has with its banking partners. Our partnership with OSN has been steadily growing with Mashreq working closely with OSN.”

David Butorac, CEO, OSN, said: “The pay-TV industry in the MENA region has enormous growth potential. Given the changing preferences of television audiences who value premium and exclusive content that OSN is consistently focused on delivering, this potential is becoming increasingly tangible.”