The three coordinating mandated lead arrangers (MLA) and bookrunners were joined initially by Natexis Banques Populaires as MLA. The facility was heavily oversubscribed by almost 40% from the originally sought amount of US$500mn and reached a total of US$687.5mn.
In addition to the four banks mentioned, the following have acted as MLAs: Calyon, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, HSH Nordbank, RZB and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
KfW and ICICI are lead arrangers, while Mizuho Corporate Bank, Moscow Narodny Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank are arrangers. Bawag, Garantibank and IKB joined as lead managers, while Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz joined as manager.
ABN also acted as facility and documentation agent, while Natexis fulfilled the role of the offtaker and offtake arrangements and documentation agent.
The second tranche in the amount of US$480.75mn is based on a classic pre-export finance mechanism and is to be repaid monthly following the 18-month grace period.
“The first tranche, granted for an exceptionally long term of a cumulative two years is unsecured, which is unique for a Russian metals and mining company. The arranged facility sets a new milestone for the financing of Rusal, both in terms of the pricing obtained and the security required,” says Prabhat Vira, global head of commodity finance at ABN Amro.
