Follow us on:   

Rosneft Raises $14bn to buy TNK-BP Stake
February 13, 2013, 3:56 pm

rosneft2

The interest on the loan will be among the lowest on the Russian corporate debt market according to Rosneft. [AP]

Russian state-run oil giant Rosneft has signed a deal to raise $14.2 billion in loans to purchase a stake in a joint oil venture from the AAR consortium, the company said on Wednesday.

“On February 13, 2013, Rosneft signed loan agreements for a total $14.212 billion. The capital will be used to acquire a 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP Ltd from the AAR (Alfa, Access, Renova) Consortium,” Rosneft said in a statement.

International banks which are acting as arrangers and lenders include the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas and Bank of China.

The interest on the loan is among the lowest on the Russian corporate debt market, Rosneft said.

The syndicated loan will bear an interest rate of LIBOR plus 2 per cent, a banking source told Prime news agency.

Rosneft announced landmark deals in the fall of 2012 to buy 100 per cent of TNK-BP from British oil major BP and the AAR consortium, after years of ongoing conflict between the two shareholder groups.

Under the terms of the deals, BP will receive $17.1 billion in cash for its 50 per cent stake plus stock representing 12.84 per cent of Rosneft’s shares while AAR agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in the joint venture “for a cash consideration of $28 billion.”

Rosneft has previously secured $30 billion in loan commitments from international lenders to finance the TNK-BP purchase.

Rosneft signed a deal in December to raise two loans worth a total of $16.8 billion to purchase BP’s 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP.

Source: Agencies