Etisalat plans to borrow more than $9bn to buy shares in Kuwait's Zain, Bloomberg has reported, citing three bankers familiar with the deal. The financing, which would be the largest acquisition loan by a company in the Middle East and Africa since at least 1999, may take the form of a short-term bridge loan that will be replaced with longer-term financing, said the bankers, who declined to be identified as the discussions are private.