Russia's Lukoil Secures $1.2 Billion, 3-Year Pre-Export Loan
August 24 2009 - 9:02AM
Dow Jones News
Russia's second largest oil producer OAO Lukoil(LKOH.RS) said
Monday it has secured a $1.2 billion syndicated pre-export loan
with a consortium of international banks.
As Dow Jones Newswires reported in July, the loan will mature in
three years and is priced at 400 basis points over Libor.
The company said the funds would be used for general corporate
purposes, to refinance existing debt and to fund its oil export
operations.
The lead organizers of the loan are ABN Amro NV, Bank of Tokyo
Mitsubishi, Barclays Capital (BARC.LN), BNP Parisas SA (BNP.FR),
Calyon, Citi (C), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), ING Bank NV, Natexis,
Orgresbank, Societe Generale (GLE.FR) and Welst LB AG.
As Dow Jones Newswires reported in April, Lukoil first
approached banks in February but it has taken longer to arrange the
deal than would traditionally have been the case, given banks'
lending constraints and the difficult economic conditions.
In June, Lukoil's Chief Executive Vagit Alekperov said the
company wasn't planning to borrow, unless there was an interesting
asset to buy.
Apart from OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS), which borrowed $15 billion
from China Development Bank in February, Lukoil's is the only major
loan from international lenders to a Russian oil company since the
autumn of 2008.
-By Alexander Kolyandr, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 945 937 8445;
alexander.kolyandr@dowjones.com