RUSAL's $2 bln loan pays 70-95 bps margin

LONDON, Aug 22 - The $2 billion, seven-year pre-export term loan for United Company RUSAL, the world's top primary aluminium producer, pays a margin of 70-95 basis points (bps) over LIBOR, a banking source said on Wednesday. The deal, which launched to senior syndication last Friday, pays 70 bps for the first three years, 80 bps in years four and five, then 95 bps thereafter. In June, the borrower said it had appointed eight mandated lead arrangers to underwrite the pre-export loan, which is secured by commodity receivables on the basis of a buy-back off-take. The facility will be amortised after a two-year grace period. Proceeds will be used to refinance a number of unsecured bridge facilities including the $550 million recently disbursed from Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank, and will be used to refinance existing debt of RUSAL companies. Mandated lead arrangers are ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Calyon, Citigroup, ING, Natixis and Societe Generale. ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Citigroup, and Natixis are bookrunners. It is RUSAL's first syndicated loan since the merger of RUSAL, SUAL and Glencore, which completed in March to create the world's biggest aluminium firm.