Renova raises club credit of 1 bln Swiss francs
MOSCOW. May 7 (Interfax) - Viktor Vekselberg's Renova Group has raised 1 billion Swiss francs in debt financing from a club of international banks, the company reported.
The organizers of the club credit, with equal participation, were Natixis (the coordinator), Credit Suisse, ING, JP Morgan and Societe Generale.
Renova used a derivative financial instrument on the basis of traded shares to raise the financing, the statement said.
Renova is not disclosing the terms of the loan, although it did say that they are "very favorable."
With these funds, the company will optimize its loan portfolio and fulfill general corporate needs. By taking out the club credit, Renova will be able to make maximum use of its earnings from the sale of its stake in TNK-BP to "implement a large-scale investment program," the company said.
As reported, Renova, which made $7 billion from the sale of its stake in TNK-BP to state-owned oil company Rosneft , could make investments in European special steel producer Schmolz+Bickenbach AG as its first post-sale transaction. According to a Renova spokesman, the company could invest up to 350 million euro in the steel producer.
Another potential investment target is electricity. Vekselberg said that Renova will earmark 15%-20% of its proceeds, or about $1-$1.5 billion, for this industry.
Renova manages the Russian and international assets of Vekselberg and his partners Yevgeny Olkhovik and Vladimir Kremer. Its largest assets are stakes in Rusal, IES and Swiss technology concerns Oerlikon and Sulzer.