" The battle for control of Irrawaddy Green Towers could lead to a rare acquisition financing in Myanmar and the country’s largest-ever syndicated loan. International banks are discussing a US$300m-$400m loan with shortlisted bidders that include private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and edotco Group, a unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group. The preferred bidder is expected to be picked by early July. A financing of that size would be Myanmar’s largest syndicated loan and only the second leveraged buyout in the country, if a financial sponsor emerges victorious. The loan will test liquidity for a market that is seldom on the radar for lenders, many of which don’t have country limits for Myanmar. “Country limits will present a key challenge for the debt financing,” said a Singapore-based senior loans banker. “It might not be easy to put this together.” The sale of IGT comes in a subdued period for mergers and acquisitions in Asia Pacific as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That could encourage lenders to add to their exposure given that an IGT financing is likely to pay higher yields than those that are found elsewhere in Asia. This year, some borrowers from Myanmar have raised club loans totalling US$370m from half a dozen Asian banks, for property sector credits such as Kajima Myanmar Holding and conglomerate Shwe Taung Group..."