NLMK may raise club loan of up to $500 mln to restructure current debt
MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Russian steel company OJSC Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) is considering the possibility of raising a club loan of up to $500 million from foreign banks, the company told Interfax.
"In the framework of restructuring current short-term debt for 2014, which is around $800 million, NLMK is considering, aside from other tools, raising a club loan from foreign banks, and is currently waiting for proposals on the cost of the borrowed funds," the company said, adding that a loan term of around three years was being considered.
The group's net debt for January-September of 2013 was $2.8 billion, and the ratio of net debt to EBITDA was 1.9x. According to an NLMK presentation, 85% of the company's loan portfolio is long-term financing, with a weighted average maturity of 3.6 years.
NLMK's net debt for 2012 was around $3.6 billion, with a net debt/EBITDA ratio of 1.88x. In line with the group's development strategy to 2018, NLMK intends to lower this ratio to 1x.
