Entrepreneur Denis O'Brien's Caribbean mobile network, Digicel, has raised €250 million from international financial institutions to fund further expansion.

The company said yesterday that it raised $300 million (€248 million) through a bond issue managed by investment banks Citigroup and JP Morgan.

The bonds can be redeemed at a rate of 9.25 per cent and the offer was oversubscribed 10 times, meaning that investors applied for more than $3 billion worth of the bonds.

Dublin-based Connolly Corporate finance, run by Mr O'Brien's long-time associate, Paul Connolly, advised Digicel on the transaction.

Mr O'Brien said in a statement yesterday that the investors were made up of major institutions from around the globe.

Both he and Digicel chief executive, Colm Delves, spent the last two weeks making presentations to institutions in major capital markets.

"We are greatly encouraged by the response we have seen to this funding initiative," he said. "We are now in an even more strategic position to move into our next expansion phase."

He added that the size and volume of the order book for the bond was impressive.

Digicel intends to use the cash to pay for expansion of its network in Trinidad and Tobago and to fund the purchase of Cingular Wireless in Bermuda and the Caribbean, which is subject to regulatory approval.

Another portion will be used to repay existing debts and shareholder loans.

The company aims to develop a seamless wireless network across the entire Caribbean.

Over the last six months, it has extended its reach to 15 countries through the purchase of Curacao Telecom, winning mobile licences in Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti, and the recent deal to buy Cingular's Caribbean and Bermudan operations.

Once it has expanded its networks to these and four other territories, its operations will have the potential to reach more than 13 million people.

The company, established in 2001, is incorporated in Bermuda and has existing operations in eight countries including Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, which is its flagship operation.