Mechel shares gaining on 1st day of trading in 2018 on news of debt restructuring
MOSCOW. Jan 3 (Interfax) - Shares of Mechel , a leading Russian mining and metals company, are gaining on the first day of trading in 2018 on the news of the restructuring of the company's $1 billion debt.
Mechel's ordinary shares rose 4.4% to 154.25 rubles, a new high since the end of September 2017, on the Moscow Exchange as of 10:32 a.m. Moscow time, while the company's preferred shares were up 4.7% to 138.3 rubles, a new high since March 2017.
At the end of December, Mechel reached an understanding with more than 75% of its pre-export finance (PXF) lenders on the restructuring of its $1 billion debt. The restructuring would include extending the loan's final maturity to the first quarter of 2022 and reducing the interest rate to the level of LIBOR + 3.5 percent annual interest with the possibility of bringing it down further to LIBOR + 3 percent annual interest.
The sides plan to sign the debt restructuring documents within the first quarter of 2018.