OREANDA-NEWS. On December 13, 2007 Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announced that it has obtained a US$2 billion syndicated loan for refinancing its Yakutian acquisitions, reported the press-centre of Mechel.

Mechel OAO has finalized execution of the US$2 billion syndicated loan arrangement, which the company originally announced on November 6, 2007, with the loan funds having been credited to the company’s accounts on December 12, 2007. The syndicated loan will refinance Mechel’s short term loans taken for the acquisition of the block of shares of Yakutugol OAO (75% of the statutory capital minus one share), Elgaugol OAO (68,86% of the statutory capital), and the real estate complex of a railway and a road between the Zeysk Railway Station (Far Eastern Railway) to the Elga coal deposits.

ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Natixis, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited, Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, and Commerzbank AG were the joint book running managers.

Syndication was launched on November 2, 2007 and is expected to be completed before the end of December 2007. The banks were invited to participate in the transaction on a take and hold basis in the loan. The primary bank meeting took place in London on November 06, 2007 and was very well-attended.

Stanislav Ploschenko, Mechel’s Acting Chief Financial Officer, commented on the transaction: “We are pleased to have successfully closed the transaction. This is the first time Mechel has secured an international syndicated loan, which was managed under favorable terms despite the current complexities on the world financial markets. Gaining this credit significantly improves Mechel’s credit portfolio structure, increasing its long term component and lowering our cost of capital. Mechel’s efficient cooperation with the largest international financial institutions and utilization of such financial facilities is another successful step in the company’s development since its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.”