OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2012. Dixy Group, one of the Russia’s leading retailers of foods and everyday products, is pleased to announce that it has secured an unsecured, amortising Club (Term) Loan of RUR 18bn (USD 547.3 mn. equivalent) provided by UniCredit Group (represented through ZAO UniCredit Bank, UniCredit Bank Austria AG and UniCredit Bank AG, London branch), OJSC Rosbank, ING BANK ZAO, Gazprombank as original lenders and MLAs. VTB subsequently joined the transaction as an MLA prior to Dixy board ratification in the last few days.

UniCredit Group and OJSC Rosbank also acted as Bookrunners with UniCredit Group assuming the role of Sole Coordinator & Facility Agent. The loan proceeds will be used to support the refinancing of Dixy Group’s current loan portfolio (including the outstanding Victoria debt) as well as catering for the Group’s corporate purposes going forward.

The club loan carries a 5 year tenor in order to allow maximum operational flexibility to the group. The loan is solely denominated in Roubles. The transaction also marks another important example of cooperation between International and Russian domestic banks. UniCredit and the Dixy Group have previously worked together on a number of successful transactions including the RUR 4,500,000,000 (USD 160 mn.) debt facility for acquiring Victoria Group in 2011.