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With the Feeling of Debt Buyout
Vladimir Potanin’s Interros attempted to benefit from financial collapse to get the blocking stake in GMK Norilsk Nickel that belongs to RUSAL. For this purpose, Interros offered to RUSAL's creditors to consider cessation of claim right to the aluminum giant for 90 percent ($4 billion) of the debt. Interros apparently staked on acquiring the blocking stake in Norilsk Nickel to secure the loan’s repayment. But VEB stepped in to rescue RUSAL by loaning enough money for debt refinancing.
Kommersant has obtained a copy of Interros letter to one of the bank-creditors of RUSAL. The letter dated October 23 and sealed by Interros Corporate Financing Department chief Andrei Lebedev offers to acquire at the 90-percent worth RUSAL’s debt under the $4.5-billion loan. RUSAL had raised it past March with the bank syndicate headed by BNP Paribas to buy out a blocking stake in GMK Norilsk Nickel from ONEXIM Group President Mikhail Prokhorov.
According to the letter, Interros wanted to buy out RUSAL’s debt at the 90-percent worth, as the discount of 10 percent would be the commission for the risk. Therefore, the actual amount would equal some $4.05 billion. For being executed, the deal was to be sanctioned by at least by 67 percent of the bankers of syndicate.
Interros needed the answer by October 28. One of the key requirements was the ban on getting RUSAL's agreement for the deal. The company also suggested executing the documents at least by October 31 or by any other date “as agreed on by the parties.”
Although the letter doesn’t explicitly specify the transfer of the blocking stake in Norilsk Nickel to Interros together with the debt, a source close to the deal said the blocking stake was the security and it would automatically go to Interros in case of the claim cessation.
But the plans of Interros didn’t materialize. It emerged in late October that VEB stepped in to provide money to RUSAL for refinancing its debt to the bank syndicate.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 05, 2008
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