URALCHEM Group gets $220m Club Term Loan Facility
UralChem Group has secured a debut 5-year USD 220,000,000 Term Loan Facility via a club of relationship banks. The financing was arranged by ING Bank N.V. («ING»), ZAO Raiffeisenbank («RBRU»), Sberbank of Russia (acting through its Sberbank CIB and Sberbank Switzerland A.G., «Sberbank») and VTB Capital plc (lending via VTB Bank (France) SA, «VTB») (jointly «Mandated Lead Arrangers») whereas HSBC Bank plc («HSBC») and «Rosbank» (OJSC JSCB) («Rosbank») joined as Lead Arrangers. ING acted as Facility and Security Agent for the facility and as Mandate Documents Agent, RBRU acted as transaction Documentation Agent, Sberbank and RBRU acted as Passport Banks, Raiffeisen Bank news release said.
The loan was structured as a classic pre-export finance facility backed by deliveries of export-grade fertilizers and other export-grade commodities. Inked on 14th December 2012 the facility was one of the first financings for Russian corporate borrowers based on a newly launched LMA form for pre-export finance arrangements.
Orrick (through its Moscow and London offices) acted as legal advisors on behalf of the lenders and Baker & McKenzie — CIS, Limited acted as legal advisors on behalf of the company. Exercising a multi-currency option embedded into the loan documentation, the facility was funded in Euros on 21st December 2012 and will be used to refinance existing indebtedness of the Group. The proceeds of the loan will allow for an extension the Group’s debt profile as well as the release of existing security.
The club loan was well perceived by the market and raised commitments exceeding the targeted amount twice, while UralChem decided to retain initially targeted amount intact. URALCHEM Group is the second largest ammonium nitrate producer in the world and number one in Russia and the second largest nitrogen fertilizer producer in Russia.
UralChem’s main competitive advantage is the development and production of innovative fertilizers tailored to particular countries, markets and segments along with ammonium nitrate and urea — in accordance with the chosen strategy of «market tailored products» focused on ensuring production flexibility.
ZAO Raiffeisenbank is a subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International AG. Raiffeisenbank ranks 11th among the Russian banks in terms of assets, based on Q3 2012 results (Interfax-CEA). According to the same Interfax-CEA data, ZAO Raiffeisenbank ranked 5th in terms of liabilities of individuals and 10th with regard to consumer lending.
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards both Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. In CEE, RBI operates an extensive network of subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other specialised financial service providers in 17 markets. RBI is the only Austrian bank with a presence in both the world’s financial centres and in Asia, the group’s further geographical area of focus. In total, around 61,000 employees service about 14.1 million customers through around 3,100 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE. Raiffeisen Bank International is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG (RZB). RZB indirectly owns around 78.5 per cent of the common stock, the remainder is in free float. RBI’s shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. RZB is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country’s largest banking group, and serves as the group head office of the entire RZB Group, including RBI.
