Discussions surrounding a possible pre-export financing for the Ukrainian metals and mining group Metinvest are continuing, with banks hoping to finalise the mandates for lead arranger positions in the coming weeks.
The facility is expected to be around US$500mn, but the size has not been confirmed.
The purpose of the funds will be to provide capex financing for the company's acquisition of the Inguletsky iron ore mine in Ukraine from mining firm Smart Holding at the end of last year.
Based on its 2007 results, Metinvest is one of the leading producers of iron ore in the Russian and CIS region, with only Russia's Metalloinvest exceeding its production capabilities.
Metinvest was in the market at the end of 2007, raising a US$1.5bn dual tranche facility, consisting of a US$1bn pre-export portion, and a US$500mn revolving one-year trade finance facility. Mandated lead arrangers were ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and ING.
At the time, this previous transaction was the largest syndicated facility to be raised for a corporate borrower in Ukraine. It carried a margin of 170bp, one of the best rates to be secured by a Ukrainian business.
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