In what would be a major blow to the new military government, claiming that it will be business-friendly and encourage foreign investment, reports are saying the acquisition of Irrawaddy Green Towers by CVC Capital Partners could be jeopardized by the latest political turmoil. The deal was just signed in December 2020 following an international bid that attracted parties from around the world.

An article by specialized website and weekly magazine Global Capital reveals that a USD 390 million loan backing CVC Capital Partners’ acquisition was abruptly put on hold this week. It reveals that “eight mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners (Bank of China, Bank SinoPac, DBS, E.Sun Commercial Bank, ING, OCBC Bank, Taishin International Bank and United Overseas Bank), had launched the five year loan into syndication on January 29”, or just a couple of days before the military seized power.
At the time of writing, both companies had not responded to requests for comment.

If the deal indeed fails, it would be another blow to the new government’s claim that on the economic front, it is “business as usual”. The reported USD 700 million acquisition is the second ever biggest buy-out of a Myanmar-based firm after Thai Beverage acquired a majority stake in Myanmar Distillery group in 2017 for USD 1 billion.