The TelecomFinance awards, honouring the top deals and banks of 2008, were presented by TV impressionist Jon Culshaw at a gala dinner on the second day of the conference.
For the deals of the year categories, the TelecomFinance editorial team selected a shortlist of the top transactions in three regions - Europe, the Middle East & Africa and Asia. Looking at both M&A and loans, the team endeavoured to reflect the main consolidation trends of 2008 as well as the increasingly difficult financial situation.
The award winners for 2008 deals were:
Asia Bank of the Year by Dollar Deal Value
League table for M&A advisers on telecom deals in AsiaWINNER: UBS
| Managing Bank | Total US$ (m) | |
UBS |
28,205 |
|
Merrill Lynch |
26,726 |
|
Goldman Sachs |
20,185 |
|
Nomura |
16,787 |
|
ING |
15,800 |
|
JP Morgan |
12,636 |
|
CIMB |
12,341 |
|
Citigroup |
11,168 |
|
Rothschild |
8,050 |
|
China Int Capital Corp |
7,700 |
|
Source: TelecomFinance |
EMEA M&A Bank of the Year by Euro Deal Value
League table for M&A advisers on telecom deals in Europe, the Middle East and AfricaWINNER: Goldman Sachs
| Managing Bank | Total € (m) | |
Goldman Sachs |
11,473 |
|
UBS |
9,676 |
|
JP Morgan |
7,844 |
|
Credit Suisse |
7,493 |
|
Calyon |
6,119 |
|
Deutsche Bank |
5,787 |
|
SG |
5,344 |
|
Lazard |
3,429 |
|
Morgan Stanley |
2,975 |
|
Citigroup |
2,593 |
|
Source: TelecomFinance |
EMEA M&A Bank of the Year by Number of Deals
League table for M&A advisers on telecom deals in Europe, the Middle East and AfricaWINNER: UBS
| Managing Bank | No. of Deals | |
UBS |
9 |
|
Goldman Sachs |
7 |
|
Credit Suisse |
5 |
|
Deutsche Bank |
4 |
|
Lazard |
4 |
|
JP Morgan |
3 |
|
Calyon |
3 |
|
Morgan Stanley |
3 |
|
SG |
2 |
|
Citigroup |
2 |
|
Source: TelecomFinance |
EMEA Debt Bank of the Year by Euro Deal Value
League table for arrangers on telecom deals in Europe, the Middle East & AfricaWINNER: RBS
| Managing Bank | Total € (m) | |
Royal Bank of Scotland |
2,522 |
|
Calyon |
2,251 |
|
SG |
1,741 |
|
BNP Paribas |
1,362 |
|
HSBC |
1,342 |
|
Fortis Bank |
1,137 |
|
China Development Bank |
686 |
|
Sberbank |
665 |
|
UBS |
541 |
EIB |
492 |
Source: TelecomFinance |
EMEA Debt Bank of the Year by Number of Deals
League table for arrangers on telecom deals in Europe, the Middle East and AfricaWINNER: Calyon
Joint 2nd: BNP Paribas and RBS
| Managing Bank | No. of Deals | |
Calyon |
11 |
|
Royal Bank of Scotland |
8 |
|
BNP Paribas |
8 |
|
SG |
5 |
|
HSBC |
3 |
|
Fortis Bank |
3 |
|
China Development Bank |
3 |
|
Sberbank |
3 |
|
EIB |
3 |
|
UBS |
2 |
|
Source: TelecomFinance |
Europe Deal of the Year
WINNER: VimpelCom's US$4.35bn acquisition of Golden Telecom/Vimpelcom US$3.5bn loan for Golden Telecom acquisition
Advisers: UBS (Vimpelcom), Credit Suisse (special committee of the board of directors of Golden Telecom)
MLAs: ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Barclays Capital, Calyon, Cititgroup, HSBC, ING and UBS
Closed: February 2008
The judging panel said:
“This deal marks the acceleration of Russian consolidation and the potential to drive a convergence strategy in Russia.”
“One of the "hot" operators on my watchlist, with interesting home market(s).”
Middle East & Africa Deal of the Year
WINNER: Vodafone’s acquisition of a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom
Value: US$900m
Advisers: UBS (Vodafone), Ecobank Development Corporation (Ghanaian government)
Closed: August 2008
The judges said:
“This was a challenging and brave acquisition, as well as highly competitive. Vodafone is entering both a new business (fixed) and new continent (if you discount Vodacom).”
“Vodafone deal is the stand out deal in part due to the political complexities”
Asia Deal of the Year
WINNER Qtel’s acquisition of a 40.8% stake in Indosat
Value: US$1.8bn
Advisers: JP Morgan, Credit Suisse (Qtel), DF King & Co (Indosat)
Closed: June 2008
The judges said:
“This deal was courageous and opportunistic, given the market environment, since it took advantage of Temasek's anti-competitive position in that market. Qtel bought a stake in one of the most exciting Asian markets.”
