IFC, Citigroup, and Societe Generale Syndicate Financing for Ukraine’s Leading Steel Producer, the Industrial Union of Donbass
In Washington
Irina Likhacheva
Phone: +1 (202) 473-1813
Email: ilikhachova@ifc.org
Kyiv, Ukraine, September 19, 2006
—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the
World Bank Group, has joined with Citigroup and Société Générale Corporate
and Investment Banking to syndicate a $250 million loan to the Industrial
Union of Donbass for its operations in Ukraine. The transaction was oversubscribed.
IFC provided a $100 million loan to
the Industrial Union of Donbass in June 2006 as part of a $350 million
financing package for the company. The $250 million B-loan has been
syndicated to 17 commercial banks and financial institutions. Citigroup
and Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking acted as coordinating
mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners of the B-loan and fully underwrote
the $250 million tranche.
The Industrial Union of Donbass, a premier
steel company with subsidiaries in Hungary and Poland as well as Ukraine,
produced 9.2 million tons of crude steel in 2005, of which 6.6 million
tons were produced by its Ukrainian operations. IFC’s loans will
help finance a $1.5 billion capital investment program to modernize the
company’s operations in Ukraine. This will help it meet international
level environmental standards, improve energy efficiency, and reduce operating
costs.
Sergiy Taruta, Chairman of the Board
of Directors at the Industrial Union of Donbass, stated that “The capital
investment program will help us strengthen our position in domestic and
international markets, and I am proud to see that we have so many representatives
of the international banking community supporting us in this process."
Ritva Laukkanen, IFC’s Director of
Syndications and Resource Mobilization, said, "We are very pleased
with the success of this large-scale syndication, which shows how B-loans
can be effective in mobilizing long-term borrowings for emerging market
corporates in the international financial markets. It also demonstrates
the financial community’s confidence in Ukraine and the viability of this
credit."
Nadir Shaikh, Citigroup Country Officer in Ukraine, added, "The success
of this syndication indicates that the highest-quality credits from Ukraine
can attract strong support from international banks despite some political
uncertainty. Citigroup remains committed to its customers in Ukraine and
greatly values its relationship with the company and IFC."
Quentin L’Hélias, Director of Loan Syndicate Debt Capital Markets at Société
Générale Corporate and Investment Banking, said, “Long-term liquidity
has been building for Ukraine. The Industrial Union of Donbass provided
the right credit and growth story, while IFC had the right structure, and,
together with SG and Citigroup, the right distribution and execution capabilities.
We are delighted to help unlock new pockets of liquidity for this growing
company, at terms that set a new benchmark for a Ukrainian corporate.”
The participants in the B-loan are:
| Citibank, N.A. London (“Citigroup”)
| Coordinating Mandated Lead Arranger
|
| Société Générale
| Coordinating Mandated Lead Arranger
|
| ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
| Mandated Lead Arranger
|
| Calyon
| Mandated Lead Arranger
|
| ING Bank N.V.
| Mandated Lead Arranger
|
| Bayerische Landesbank
| Arranger
|
| Natexis Banques Populaires
| Arranger
|
| Raiffeisen Banking Group:
| Arranger
|
- Raiffeisen
Zentralbank Österreich AG
- Raiffeisenlandesbank
Niederösterreich-Wien AG
|
|
| Commerzbank AG
| Lead Manager
|
| Fortis Bank S.A./N.V.
| Lead Manager
|
| GarantiBank International N.V.
| Lead Manager
|
| Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited
| Lead Manager
|
| NM Rothschild & Sons Limited
| Lead Manager
|
| Nordkap Bank AG
| Lead Manager
|
| SANPAOLO IMI S.p.A.
| Lead Manager
|
| XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd
| Lead Manager |
|
