Kazakhstan
The EBRD has closed a Eu255m loan for Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company, or Kegoc.
The deal was split between an ‘A’ loan of Eu127.5m provided by the EBRD, with a 15 year maturity, and a Eu127.5m ‘B’ loan, with maturities of nine, 12 and 15 years. BayernLB was mandated lead arranger in the ‘B’ loan, while Dexia was lead arranger.
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Russia
The $1.5bn loan for Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) is still in documentation, and bankers say the borrower was deciding whether to take the oversubscription and whether there would be scale-backs.
BNP Paribas and Société Générale are bookrunners and initial mandated lead arrangers, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Deutsche Bank, SMBC and UniCredit also joined as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers during senior syndication. ABN Amro and Fortis Bank are mandated lead arrangers.
The facility was underwritten at $1bn, with the aim of raising $1.5bn during syndication. Banks close to the transaction said that commitments had exceeded the target amount.
Proceeds will refinance debt at the group’s recently acquired Maxi Steel subsidiary.
The $1bn dual tranche facility for VTB Bank, which is in documentation and oversubscribed, is set to be increased. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays Capital, BayernLB, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan, Mizuho and SMBC are mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.
The facility is split between three year money and an 18 month piece, which carry margins of 65bp and 60bp over Libor respectively.
The $150m loan for automotive company Gaz is in documentation, and banks are mulling over a possible increase after the deal was oversubscribed. Barclays Capital, Commerzbank and Natixis are arranging the deal, which pays a margin of 250bp over Libor.
The loan had been in the market since the end of March, but closed oversubscribed at the end of May.
During syndication, banks were offered mandated lead arranger tickets of $20m for 120bp and arranger tickets of $10m for 90bp.
Gaz manufactures light commercial vehicles and trucks, and is part of the Basic Element holding company, which also owns United Company Rusal.
The $1.2bn bridge financing for steel pipe producer TMK is set to be launched next week. ABN Amro, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and ING were initially mandated as bookrunners. The deal backs TMK’s joint bid with Russian steel company Evraz for Ipsco’s North American assets.
Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Natixis and SMBC were also mandated lead arrangers.
The $300m debut loan for the Moscow electricity grid, Moesk, is to close shortly. The loan is already oversubscribed, but officials say they are waiting for one bank to still come into it.
Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and ING are bookrunners, while WestLB is a mandated lead arranger. The two year deal pays a margin of 250bp over Libor.
Proceeds will refinance the company’s 2008 investment programme, and the facility will be launched into syndication shortly.
Russia’s United Energy Systems is the majority shareholder in Moesk, while the City of Moscow and state-owned oil and gas company Gazprom also have stakes in the company.
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Latvia
Latvia’s Aizkraukles banka is set to return to market for a Eu70m refinancing, in its second venture in the loan market this year.
EuroWeek understands that the Eu70m facility was set to be launched yesterday (Thursday), or at the latest by the end of this week.
Aizkraukles banka — Latvia’s seventh biggest bank by assets and a frequent borrower in the loan market — has again increased the pricing on its latest transaction, and is paying a premium compared with the last time it tapped the market, in February.
The deal will refinance a Eu125m loan from July 2007. BayernLB, DZ Bank, HSH Nordbank and RZB are leading the transaction, which pays a margin of 100bp over Libor and has a 360 day tenor.
Banks are being offered mandated lead arranger tickets of Eu10m for 100bp, lead arranger tickets of Eu7.5m for 85bp, co-arranger tickets of Eu5m for 75bp and senior lead manager tickets of Eu2.5m for 65bp.
"Aizkraukles banka has an established group of lenders, and people knew this was coming up, so there shouldn’t be any surprises," said one banker. "It’s good pricing for a lender with a good track record."
The borrower signed its last Eu70m loan earlier this year, after the deal was oversubscribed and increased from Eu60m. That facility, led by DZ Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and Landesbank Berlin, paid a margin of 95bp.
Its Eu125m loan from last July — which the new Eu70m facility will refinance — paid a margin of 60bp, and the top ticket of $10m had fees of 55bp. BayernLB, DZ Bank and RZB led that transaction.
Deals for other Latvian bank borrowers which have come to market this year have also been oversubscribed, like the Eu275m facility for Parex Bank, the country’s biggest lender. That deal, which was signed in February, was increased from Eu225m, and paid a margin of 55bp. The top ticket on offer, Eu15m, paid fees of 60bp.
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