Mechel Closes Syndication of US$2 Billion Loan
MOSCOW, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Mechel OAO , one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that it has closed syndication of a US$2.0 billion loan for refinancing its Yakutian coal assets acquired at auction on October 5, 2007.
Mechel OAO and the international banks acting as the joint book running managers for the loan, ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Natixis, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited, Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, and Commerzbank AG officially closed the loan syndication started on November 2, 2007.
Through the loan, Mechel refinanced short term loans taken for the acquisition of the block of shares of Yakutugol OAO (75% of the statutory capital minus one share), Elgaugol OAO (68.86% of the statutory capital), and the real estate complex of a railway and a road between the Zeysk Railway Station (Far Eastern Railway) to the Elga coal deposits.
The syndicated loan is comprised of a Classic Secured 5-year Pre-Export Finance Facility totaling $1.7 billion (85%) and 3-year Term Loan Facility totaling $300 million (15%). General syndication, which was joined by thirteen leading world banks, resulted in an oversubscription of the Acquisition Refinancing Package for $105 million, but the Company elected not to increase the Facility size.
As previously announced, the loan funds totaling $2.0 billion were credited to the company’s accounts on December 12, 2007.
Mechel is one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies. Mechel unites producers of coal, iron ore, nickel, steel, rolled products, and hardware. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. We refer you to the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward- Looking Statements” in our Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the achievement of anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and synergy of our recent acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of developments in the Russian economic, political and legal environment, volatility in stock markets or in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial risk management and the impact of general business and global economic conditions.
Mechel OAO
CONTACT: Ilya Zhitomirsky of Mechel OAO, +7-495-221-88-88,ilya.zhitomirsky@mechel.com