Joint Stock Company Commercial Bank Center-invest (“Center-invest”) is pleased to announce that its US$80 Million Syndicated Term Loan Facility (the “Facility’’) was successfully closed and signed on 28 February, 2007 in London. The Facility is the second successful international syndicated loan for Center-invest. The first international syndicated loan was a US$45 Million A/B loan arranged by the EBRD in July 2006 with 15 participants.
The Facility was arranged by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and Standard Bank Plc (“Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers”). Standard Bank Plc acted as Documentation and Facility Agent. The Facility was launched at U$40 Million and raised over US$120 Million in commitments. Center-invest elected to accept the US$80 Million as the final Facility Amount. 38 banks joined the syndicate.
The Facility will be drawn by the Borrower on 12 March, 2007.
Summary details of the transaction:
| Borrower: | Joint Stock Company Commercial Bank Center-invest |
| Amount: | US$ 80,000,000. |
| Facility Type: | Term Loan Facility. |
| Facility Purpose: | To finance certain trade contracts of the Borrower’s strategic clients. |
| Initial Maturity Date: | 364 days from the date of signing of the Facility agreement (the “Initial Maturity Date”). |
| Extension Option: | The Borrower may request an extension of the Initial Maturity Date for up to 364 days. Extension of the Facility will be at each individual lenders’ option. |
| Interest Rate: | LIBOR + 1.90% p.a. |
| Governing Law: | The facility agreement is to be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. |
Center-invest, established in 1992, organised as an open joint stock company under the laws of the Russian Federation with its registered office and its head office at 62 Sokolova ave. Rostov on Don, 344010, Russian Federation. The Bank holds the General License No. 2225 of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated January 26, 1998. CIB is licensed by the Federal Service on Financial Markets of the Russian Federation to act as a broker (No. 061-03243-100000 of 29.11.2000), dealer (No. 061-03332-010000 of 29.11.2000), professional participant in the securities market for securities management (No. 061-03407-001000 of 29. 11.2000) and depositary (No. 061-04118-000100 of 20 12 2000) in the Russian securities market.
Center-invest has the second largest branch network after Sberbank in the region that covers the entire Rostov oblast and has been expanded into the neighbouring Krasnodarskiy Krai, Volgograd region and Stavropol krai. In 2007 the bank plans its further expansion mainly within the South Federal District via the opening of 21 new outlets.
The Bank is a universal bank providing a comprehensive range of services, in compliance with the international standards of modern banking, to 20,000 corporate and 100,000 retail clients in Rostov and adjacent regions offering a wide range of products to meet their needs.
Center-invest ranks number one in the Rostov region by size of capital, assets, loans, deposits and retail deposits (excluding Sberbank).
The bank is rated “B1” by Moody’s, “A2.ru” by Moody’s Interfax, (21 September 2006) and “BB” by RusRating, reflecting its stable financial and market positions, strong shareholders, and access to international funding.
According to Center-invest its equity was increased on 6th December 2006 to Roubles 4.31 billion by way of issue of 25 million new shares with a value of Roubles 1.35bn. Amounting to a 59% increase in the banks capital.
The Banks main shareholders are:
| Shareholder | Percentage holding |
|---|---|
| EBRD | 27.45% |
| DEG | 22.45% |
| Bank’s Management (Vysokov family) | 17.84% |
| American Investment Fund Firebird | 9.9% |
| Raiffeisen Landesbank OberOsterreisch | 3.6% |
The list of participating banks is as follows:
Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers
Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft
Standard Bank Plc
Mandated Lead Arrangers
ANGLO-ROMANIAN BANK LIMITED
BANCO FINANTIA, S.A.
COMMERCIAL BANK OF INDIA LLC, MOSCOW
DEMIR-HALK BANK (NEDERLAND) N.V.
FBN BANK (UK) LTD
FINANSBANK (HOLLAND) N.V.
FIRST GULF BANK P.J.S.C.
GARANTIBANK INTERNATIONAL N.V.
HSH NORDBANK AG LUXEMBOURG BRANCH
RZB GROUP (RAIFFEISEN ZENTRALBANK ÖSTERREICH AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT AND ZAO RAIFFEISENBANK AUSTRIA)
VTB BANK (DEUTSCHLAND) AG
ZAO BANCA INTESA
Arrangers
N.V. DE INDONESISCHE OVERZEESE BANK
LONDON FORFAITING COMPANY LTD
WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
WGZ BANK AG WESTDEUTSCHE GENOSSENSCHAFTS-ZENTRALBANK
MEGA INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK CO.LTD. PARIS BRANCH
THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINACo-ArrangersBAWAG P.S.K. Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse
Aktiengesellschaft
BANCO BPI CAYMAN LIMITED
BANQUE DE COMMERCE ET DE PLACEMENTS SA
CAIXA GERAL DE DEPOSITOS S.A., FRANCE BRANCH
LANDESBANK BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG, LONDON BRANCH
LHB INTERNATIONALE HANDELSBANK AG, FRANKFURT
NATIONAL CITY BANK
ZAO CITIBANK
Senior Lead Managers
AB UKIO BANKAS
ADRIA BANK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
AKA AUSFUHRKREDIT - GESELLSCHAFT MBH
BANCA LOMBARDA INTERNATIONAL S.A.
BANIF-BANCO INTERNACIONAL DO FUNCHAL, S.A.
CJSC ''DENIZBANK MOSCOW''
NATIONAL BANK OF EGYPT (UK) LIMITED
TRADE & DEVELOPMENT BANK OF MONGOLIA
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:
Bank Center-invest
Grigory Chorayan, Head of Treasury and Financial Markets
Tel: +7 8632 675833
Olga Vysokova, Head of London Representative office
Tel: +44 207 590 31 44
Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft
Lothat Schlichting
Joern Hagner
Tel: +49 69 136 47652
Standard Bank Plc
Robert Scott
Kristina Tchoufarova
Tel:+44 207 815 4046