Russian steel maker NLMK Group has closed a four-year US$400mn pre-export loan facility priced at 3% over Libor.

A total of 10 international banks participated in the deal. Société Générale was appointed co-ordinator, mandated lead arranger (MLA) and bookrunner for the facility. ING, Nordea Bank, Rosbank and UniCredit, acted as MLAs and bookrunners. Deutsche Bank, Natixis and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) acted as lead arrangers, while China Construction Bank and Bank ICBC acted as arrangers. Deutsche Bank was appointed as facility agent and ING as security agent. Law firm Debevoise & Plimpton advised NLMK, a longstanding client, on the facility.

The facility will be used to refinance the company’s short-term debt and for general corporate purposes. Grigory Fedorishin, NLMK CFO, comments: “We are pleased to announce the successful closing of the pre-export loan deal. Leading international banks participated in the transaction, including new lenders [Nordea, BofAML, China Construction Bank and ICBC] that have not previously done business with NLMK.”