OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2010. EuroChem has priced its RUR 5bn, series 02 Rouble bond issue at 8.90% per annum.  During the book building stage, organizers received orders totaling over RUR 8.6 bn.  Due to solid investor demand, the final coupon rate was set below the initial marketing range of 9.25%-9.75%.  Bondholders will have a put option after 5 years on 3 July 2015.

The organizers of the placement are Raiffeisenbank and Sviaz-Bank.

EuroChem CEO Dmitry Strezhnev said: "We are pleased with our debut on the Rouble bond market. While there are very few Rouble issues of such duration to benchmark ourselves against, the market clearly appreciates EuroChem as a borrower: the equivalent US Dollar borrowing rate compares favorably with the current 5-year yields available to Russia's largest state-owned corporations in the eurobond market."

EuroChem CFO Andrey Ilyin commented: “We postponed the placement in May due to market volatility, and have successfully returned on better terms and a smaller issue as we shifted away from market-based funding toward less volatile long-term bank lending. This transaction is part of EuroChem’s financing strategy, which seeks to push the Company’s refinancing needs beyond the planned start of its potash revenue generation.”

The technical placement of the bonds will take place on 6 July 2010 on the MICEX exchange.

Funds from this placement will be used for refinancing of existing debt and capital investments.