Telefonica de Espana SA, Madrid-based Spanish state phone company in which the government retains a controlling stake, reports that it has now signed a syndicated credit line of $1,000m with ABN-Amro Bank as lead bank with 19 others to finance the acquisition of those two Peruvian telecommunications companies by its Telefonica Internacional SA subsidiary. The Dutch bank will guarantee the financing of the bridge loan, which carries an interest rate spread of 0.2% over the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate and has a maturity of seven months. Telefonica, as reported, $2,002m for a 33% stake in each of Compania Peruana de Telefonos SA and Entel-Peru in an international tender process last February.
