Last checked at 4 Dec 2009 07:00
4 December 2009
Ferrexpo plc
("Ferrexpo" or "the Company")
New Debt Facility
Ferrexpo is pleased to announce that it has secured a new Pre-Export Financing ("PXF") facility in an amount of US$230 million (the "Loan").
This transaction is the first successful financing to be concluded by a metals and mining company with assets located in the CIS since the global financial crisis began in September 2008.
Deutsche Bank AG acted as Coordinator, Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner for the Loan and provided funding, together with 10 other prominent financial institutions, including:
| WestLB AG, London Branch | J.P. Morgan plc |
| BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA | UBS Investment Bank |
| Fortis Bank (Nederland) N.V. | Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn |
| Natixis | CALYON |
| Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG | VTB Bank (France) SA |
The Loan will be available for drawdown from 1 January 2010, and will be used for financing and general corporate purposes. The Loan matures 36 months from 1 January 2010 and is to be repaid in 24 equal monthly instalments with the first instalment falling due in January 2011. The margin of the Loan is 7.00% above US dollar LIBOR.
Kris Van Broekhoven, Deutsche Bank's Head of Structured Commodity and Trade Finance for EMEA, said:
"Deutsche Bank is pleased to have been able to assist Ferrexpo in this debt financing. Ferrexpo's strong performance in the downturn, its business record and commitment to best practice make it an attractive customer to international financial institutions."
Chris Mawe, Chief Financial Officer of Ferrexpo, said:
"Ferrexpo is pleased to have successfully renewed its debt facilities despite extremely challenging debt market conditions. The Company's ability to attract financing from both existing and new lenders is testament to the strength of its relationships with many of the world's leading banks. This is as a result of its commitment to transparency and best practice corporate governance, the Company's strong fundamentals, its financial performance over the past twelve months and the ongoing resilience of its business model. The new PXF will provide Ferrexpo with the necessary financial flexibility to invest the cash flow generated by its existing business in the development of its world class iron ore resources."
For further information, please contact:
Ferrexpo: +44 20 7389 8304
Gavin Mackay
Pelham: +44 20 7337 1500
Charles Vivian
Evgeniy Chuikov
Notes to Editors:
Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered resources company with assets in Ukraine, principally involved in the production and export of iron ore pellets, used in producing steel. Current output is over 9 million tonnes, most of which is exported to steelmakers around the world. The Group is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker FXPO. For further information please visit www.ferrexpo.com.