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Articles & publications
06.05.2010
Rostelecom could place bonds worth RUR 30 bln in 2010RIA Novosti
Russia’s largest LD operator Rostelecom does not rule out placing a RUR 30 bln bonded loan in 2010 for the purpose of restructuring a loan for the same amount, the company’s general director Anton Kolpakov told RIA Novosti.
Earlier the company announced a tender for a RUR 30 bln loan. According to Mr. Kolpakov, this is a more convenient instrument for the company, but “would take longer to execute”.
For this reason, Rostelecom after raising the loan could place bonds for the same amount in order to restructure it.
Rostelecom announced its intention to hold a public tender on May 24 for six non-revolving credit lines worth a total of RUR 30 bln to finance its current and investment activity, and also refinance current liabilities.
As noted earlier by the head of state holding Svyazinvest (owns 51% of the LD operator) and chairman of the board of directors of Rostelecom Evgeny Yurchnko, the company intends to raise some RUR 30 bln in order to buy back Comstar-UTS’s 25.1% interest in Svyazinvest. As Vedomosti wrote, quoting Yurchenko, for this purpose Rostelecom intends to buy back bonds worth the same amount.
At the end of 2009, the government of the Russian Federation approved an asset exchange between the state and AFK Sistema (through its subsidiary MTS controls Comstar-UTS), which provides for Comstar-UTS to return to the state its blocking stake in Svyazinvest in return for which it will receive a 28% equity position in MGTS and have its RUR 26 bln debt to Sberbank written off. The assumption is that the debts of Comstar and a blocking stake in Svyazinvest would go to Vnesheconombank.
However, the transaction was delayed and as a result the buyer of the blocking stake in Svyazinvest is expected to be Rostelecom, on the basis of which the holding is to merge all of its subsidiaries in line with the reorganization. The value of Svyazinvest’s blocking stake was appraised by Ernst & Young at RUR 26 bln.
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