May 18 2005
RUSAL, one of the world's largest aluminum producers, has raised a $200 million unsecured loan to refinance its purchase of a 20% stake in Queensland Alumina Limited, Australia.
The loan has been extended by Paris-based Natexis Banques Populaires for a term of twelve months. It is priced at LIBOR plus 100 basis points and will be substituted with a long-term loan later this year.
«This deal sets a new record for Russian metals and mining companies borrowing on the international markets. It demonstrates a growing confidence in RUSAL and our financial strength on the part of the foreign banking community,» said Oleg Mukhamedshin, RUSAL Deputy Chief Financial Officer. «The interest rate is very low for loans granted by western banks to Russian metals and mining companies with a similar risk profile.»
The loan facility will be used to partially refinance the purchase of a 20% stake in Queensland Alumina Limited. RUSAL completed its purchase of the stake from Kaiser Aluminium in late March, 2005, becoming the largest Russian investor in Australia's economy. As a result of the $401 million deal, RUSAL has acquired an additional 770,000 tons of alumina per year (with an option to increase to 1 million tons per year) and boosted its raw material base by over 22%.
«We have a history of successful cooperation with Natexis Banques Populaires, which has worked with us since 2001,» Mukhamedshin added. «The extension of this recent $200 million loan facility was a very efficient process, taking less than two months to complete. We look forward to a smooth finalization of the long-term facility in the near future.»
Last October, Natexis Banques Populaires was one of the lead arrangers and the facility, documentation and security agent for an $800 million syndicated loan extended to RUSAL — the largest credit facility ever arranged by the company and the largest metals and mining syndicated term loan secured in Russia.
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