Metinvest Group, a steel and mining group headquartered in Ukraine, has completed a transaction that extends the maturity of 440 million US dollars of its 944.5 million US dollars worth of eurobonds – , originally due in 2023 – by six and a half years. The net proceeds from the deal amount to 350 million US dollars, Interfax Ukraine has reported.
The deal was struck by placing two new issues of eurobonds, with 500 million US dollars due in 2029 and 300 million euros due in 2025, the company said in a statement.
The debut euro-denominated tranche was issued at the lowest yield ever achieved by a Ukrainian issuer in euros.
The new securities were admitted to circulation on the Irish Stock Exchange on October 17.
“Despite challenging market conditions, Metinvest was able to arrange 10-year, US dollar financing, which until recently was only available to the sovereign borrower in Ukraine. We see this as a clear sign of continued investor belief in the group’s strong business model and fundamentals,” said Metinvest CFO Aleksander Lyubarev, adding that another breakthrough was the debut issue of euro-denominated papers which expanded the group’s investor base.
Commenting on the deal, Metinvest Group CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said that the group’s proactive management had made its capital structure and bond maturity profile more sustainable amid reduced refinancing risks.
“Metinvest has secured new euro funding, which provides financing flexibility during a steel price down-cycle. We will use part of the net proceeds from this transaction to repay the Group’s short-term maturities and an additional portion to accelerate the implementation of our Technology Strategy 2030,” he said.
The transaction enjoyed strong support from top European financial institutions and the global investor community.
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