Rusal to enter into Russia’s first sustainability linked syndicated pre-export finance facility
by Ben Poole
Global aluminium producer Rusal has announced that it plans to enter into a five-year US$750m sustainability linked pre-export finance (PXF) facility. It will be the first ever sustainability linked syndicated facility arranged by international commercial banks in Russia.
The proceeds of the facility will be used to partly refinance the principal outstanding under the existing up to US$2bn pre-export finance facility that was drawn in May 2017.
Rusal has mandated ING and Natixis as coordinating mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners of the facility. Natixis and Societe Generale are acting as sustainability coordinators.
This transaction will be the first sustainability linked syndicated facility arranged by international commercial banks in Russia. The margin will depend on the company’s fulfilment of key performance indicators related to environmental impacts and sustainable developments.
The syndication was launched in early September and has received interest from Russian and international banks active on the Russian syndicated loan market. The syndication is expected to be closed by mid-October and currently the company says it has received commitments for a total amount of US$725m. These commitments are subject to satisfactory documentation, as per market practice.
“We are glad to see the appreciation of the company’s comprehensive sustainability initiatives from the banking community,” said Evgenii Nikitin, Rusal’s CEO. “For us this transaction is not only another important step towards the refinancing of the company’s debt optimising maturities and financing costs, but also proves the support we have for our ecological strategy from the experts in that field.”
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