The Russian steel and mining group Mechel has announced that, following negotiations with a banking syndicate, it has reached an agreement for an additional two-month extension for the repayment of a $1.5 billion one-year loan, which was secured for the acquisition of London-based nickel and chrome mining and processing company Oriel Resources Plc. The new payment date is July 15, 2009.
Accordingly, Mechel and the representatives of the creditor banks have agreed on the basic principles of the refinancing of the bridge loan for a term of up to 3.5 years. At the moment the participating banks in the syndicate are in the process of performing internal procedures in order to obtain final approval for the agreement conditions.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in March 2009 Mechel received a two-month extension of its bridge loan, up to May 15, 2009.