Lukoil enters senior syndication

A US$1bn syndicated loan being raised for the Russian oil company Lukoil has entered senior syndication.

Mandated lead arrangers on the deal are ABN Amro, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, Mizuho and WestLB. The facility is unsecured and is said to be paying a margin of between 85 and 95 basis points over Libor. It features a three and five-year tranche.

Lukoil was last in the market in May 2007, where is managed to secure a US$250mn facility at just 40bp, the lowest margin achieved to date on a Russian syndication. Since the credit turmoil, pricing has swung back up, but the Russian syndications market has remained relatively active.