Cash hopes: at Lukoil
Lukoil in $250m cash hunt
Russian oil producer Lukoil is seeking to borrow $250 million at its lowest-ever interest rate, according to reports.
Lukoil is borrowing to refinance $765 million of secured loans it secured in 2003, a banker familiar with the deal told Bloomberg.
The five-year unsecured loan will potentially be the lowest rate to borrow for a Russian non-government company, said Steve Cook, a credit analyst at Commerzbank.
"Lukoil is widely recognized as one of the strongest companies in Russia,'' Cook said. "There's generally robust demand for top-tier Russian assets. Most of the loans have been unsecured recently.''
Lukoil is planning to pay 40 basis points more than the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, to borrow for five years, according to the banker. ABN Amro Holding and Calyon, the loan's arrangers, are syndicating the deal to a wider group of lenders, the banker said.
Lukoil's rate would undercut Gazprom, which earlier this month raised $2 billion of loans at its cheapest rate. State-controlled Gazprom is paying 50 basis points for five-year loans. It agreed a 40 basis-point interest margin on a three- year financing. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.