Gazprom Neft Gets $1 Bln Loan (Russia)

Gazprom Neft signed a USD 1 billion term and revolving loan agreement with a group of banks.

Funds available under the agreement are provided on an unsecured basis and shall be used for general corporate purposes of the company. The agreement comprises two loan facilities being an amortizing USD 700 million term loan facility with a final maturity date falling 5 years from the date of the first utilization and a USD 300 million revolving loan facility with a bullet repayment after 3 years from date of the first utilization under the facilities agreement.

The interest rate under the term loan facility is a sum of LIBOR and 1.75% per annum while for the revolving loan facility the interest rate is the sum of LIBOR and spread ranging from 1,2% to 1,5% per annum depending on the level of utilization of the revolving loan facility.

The agreement was signed with BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA, Commerzbank Group, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Den Norske Syndicates, HSBC BANK PLC, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., RBI Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited, UniCredit as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Original Lenders.

Utilisations under the facilities agreement are subject to the company’s Board of Directors approval.

Alexei Yankevich, Member of the management board, Deputy CEO and CFO of Gazprom Neft, commented: “The structure of the facilities agreement combining both term and revolving loan facilities is unique for the Russian market and provides the company with additional flexibility to manage its liquidity more efficiently. Double oversubscription reached in the course of the execution demonstrates investment attractiveness of the company and positive perception of the innovative structure in the market. The facilities agreement represents an important step in the company’s debt optimization and diversification programme”.