BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

20/11/2007

Telekom Austria to place 'at least' 500 mln eur corporate bond - CFO

VIENNA, Nov. 20, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Telekom Austria AG (OOTC:TKAGY) plans to issue a medium maturity corporate bond of 'at least 500 mln eur' from as early as next week, to be used to refinance the 730 mln eur acquisition costs of its 70 pct stake in the Belarusian mobile operator MDC.

Dependant on market conditions and demand, the issue will either be placed immediately after the investor roadshow to promote the bond -- which begins today in Vienna -- or early in 2008, Hans Tschuden chief financial officer of Telekom Austria told journalists at a press conference.

'Telekom Austria can rely on sufficient credit facilities, even after financing the acquisition in Belarus, therefore I'd like to stress that this bond issue will only be carried out in an attractive market,' said Tschuden.

While the floor is placed at 500 mln eur, the actual size and number of tranches will depend on the demand generated with institutional investors, he said.

'We don't come onto the market that often, this is only the fourth time, and we expect to get a good response,' Tschuden said.

Domestic brokerage UniCredit and JP Morgan have been mandated to manage the issue.

Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) Ratings Services holds a 'BBB+' rating and stable outlook on Telekom Austria. Fellow credit ratings agency, Moodys, has an 'A3' rating and a stable outlook for the telecom company.

The investor roadshow ends in Frankfurt on Nov 23.

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-21119572.htm

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