Not satisfied with issuing Russia’s first investment grade bond and its first securitization, Gazprom has closed a $1.1 billion loan ? the largest since Russia’s 1998 financial crisis.
The six-year deal is fully underwritten by ABN Amro and secured against export receivables from a long-term gas sales contract to the Czech Republic.
The success of the loan, which received $2.5 billion in offers from 44 banks in syndication, shows that the success of Gazprom’s $1.25 billion securitization in July was not wholly down to the intricate and innovative structure of that issue.
Much of Gazprom’s popularity seems to be due, rather, to its state-owned status. Uncertainty over the future of Yukos, the oil company under investigation by the Russian government, has made lenders jittery over deals with other so-called oligarchs in Russia. Société Générale and ING pulled out of a loan to oil company TNK-BP recently, as did HSBC from a loan to Norilsk Nickel.
The Gazprom loan is the largest fully underwritten syndicated facility transacted on a sole basis for a Russian company since 1998. The size of the offers in syndication also makes it the largest syndicate ever for a Russian loan.
The facility will be used to refinance six secured loans raised by Gazprom between 2001 and 2003. It used the excess demand in the market to reduce its borrowing margins, only paying 200 basis points over Libor for this loan.
Gazprom has stated that it is looking to raise Rbs150 billion ($5.13 billion) in funding this year, towards which the July securitization and this loan contribute $2.35 billion. Gazprom is also due to merge with Rosneft, the state-owned oil company, later this year.
