OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2011. Uralkali (LSE: URKA), one of the world’s largest potash producers, has signed a loan agreement with a group of banks. The lead arrangers of the loan facility in the amount up to USD 1 000 million are Unicredit Group and ING Bank N.v. The company has been successful in securing a long term financing on very favorable terms (LIBOR plus 180bps with the loan durability of 5 years.) despite the increasing turbulence in the financial markets. The loan facility will be used for the refinancing of the Sberbank loan provided for the acquisition of the licence for the development of the Polovodovsky block of the Verkhnekamskoe potash and magnesium salt deposit.

Viktor Belyakov, Uralkali CFO, commented:

"Uralkali is a first-rate borrower having a comfortable debt level and optimal capital structure. However, we continue to optimise our credit portfolio. The new deal will allow us to make our credit portfolio more balanced with longer durability, less currency risks and lower average interest rate that will now amount about 3%. Moreover, as a result of this refinancing we are broadening the range of partner banks of the Company."