OREANDA-NEWS. On 01 April 2008 X5 Retail Group N.V., Russia's largest food retailer in terms of sales, announced that syndication for the USD 1,100,000,000 3 year Term Loan Facility (the ‘Facility’) was successfully completed on terms announced prior to the launch.

 The syndication was launched by BNP Paribas, CALYON, HSBC Bank plc, ING Bank N.V. and Raiffeisen Zentralbank Цsterreich AG (RZB) (each an “Initial Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner”) on 25 January 2008 (the Facility was fully pre-funded by the Bookrunners in December 2007).  Societe Generale and Unicredit joined the transaction as Mandated Lead Arrangers.  In total, 12 banks joined the Facility.

As the Company stated on 18 December 2007, the Facility pays a margin of 225 bps p.a. over LIBOR out of the box for the first year.  Subsequently, the margin will move in accordance with a Net Debt/EBITDA grid with a maximum margin at the top of the grid of 200 bps p.a. over LIBOR. 

CFO of X5 Retail Group Evgeny Kornilov commented:

"The successful completion of this syndication in the current market environment reflects appreciation of X5’s business strategy and healthy financial position by established international financial institutions.  We are convinced that our strong growth prospects and prudent financial management will ensure the Company’s stable access to debt financing irrespective of market conditions.  We are comfortable with our current debt structure where over 80% of existing obligations mature in more than two and a half years.  Moreover, with USD 260 million already available to the Company in fully committed credit lines, X5 Retail Group confidently continues to invest in its future growth and unrivalled market leadership.”