Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has secured $400 million in debt financing for its acquisition of Telenor's operations in the country.

In a filing with the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the telco said it had struck an agreement with the board of directors of International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the financing.

PTCL said it expects to conclude the debt financing deal with the IFC by the end of July.

The telco agreed a deal in mid-December to snap up Telenor's Pakistan unit for around $490 million.

Norway-based Telenor first launched in Pakistan 18 years ago, and built a subscriber base of more than 45 million. It had been considering a merger deal in the country, before opting to sell entirely.

Telenor has previously completed merger deals in Malaysia and Thailand, and in 2022 exited the Myanmar market after it sold its local operations to Lebanese holding company M1 Group for $105 million.

PTCL is majority state-owned, with the government owning around 62 percent of shares in the company. UAE-based Etisalat (e&) acquired a 26 percent stake in PTCL in 2005.

The deal remains subject to regulatory approval.

A member of the World Bank, IFC aims to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The group has provided financing to the likes of Togocom, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Airtel Africa, DigitalBridge’s Scala Data Centers and OData in Brazil, and others.