Russia’s state-owned Gazpromneft has appointed three major banks as initial mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners in a US$1bn five-year pre-export finance facility.
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Natixis and Société Générale CIB all won the initial mandate for the deal.
The facility, which was launched into senior syndication at the start of the month, is open to potential investors with a US$100mn commitment.
The money will be used to refinance the oil and gas producer’s existing debts, as well as general corporate purposes.
While the exact pricing of the loan is yet to be released, it will not be as much as the 500 basis points over Libor that the company’s US$500mn club deal came to in October 2009, as William Sharpe, managing director, loan syndication, international at Natixis, tells GTR: “The pricing of the deal is significantly less than the pricing received last year.”
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