Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest exploring bond sale as debt deadline nears

Ukrainian steel giant Metinvest is exploring whether it could issue new ​debt to cover a near $430 million bond payment due in April ​that it has also been in talks to ‌potentially ​restructure, its chief executive has told Reuters.

Metinvest remains Ukraine's largest private company, but the country's four punishing years of war with Russia has seen it lose roughly half of its operations, including some of its biggest ‌steel and coal facilities. Earlier this month, it paused talks with a group of its bondholders about restructuring $1.25 billion of its debt, saying it would explore "alternative liability management transactions".

Speaking to Reuters about Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the war, Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov laid out the impact the conflict has had and the options ‌for its finances. He said it was looking at "many avenues", especially after poultry giant MHP last month became the first Ukrainian company since the ‌full-scale war broke out in 2022 to sell an international bond.

"At the moment we're listening to what the market is saying, what they (investors) can be comfortable with," Ryzhenkov told Reuters by phone. "We would be comfortable to go with a 3-year bond, we would be comfortable to go with a 5-year. It obviously depends on the other details, on the covenants ⁠and the ​cost of the debt. So we'll have ⁠to strike some sort of a balance."

ACCEPTABLE COST? Bankers say Metinvest would probably have to pay 1-2 percentage points more than the 10.5% MHP paid last month to borrow $450 million ⁠over three years.

That would be a high price and not sustainable in the long term, Alan Siow, Co-Head of EM Corporate Debt at Ninety One said. But ​it would mean the firm retains market access and could then refinance at a better level if and when the situation improves. Ryzhenkov ⁠said Metinvest's other possibilities included a private debt deal, using the firm's existing resources, or going back to the restructuring options discussed in recent months.

If it did opt for a ⁠bond, ​Ryzhenkov added there was leeway on how much it would need to borrow. It has a $428 million payment to make by April 23, but has got some cash it could utilise. "Depending on the conditions from the market, we can go for $300 million (bond) or we can go for $500 ⁠if the conversations are good, if the cost is acceptable."

A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank, which helped organise a recent roadshow with Metinvest investors, didn't ⁠immediately respond to a request for comment ⁠on the potential for a bond sale. Ryzhenkov said Metinvest still had some time before a decision needed to be taken and that he was taking an optimistic view.

"Either we find the market solution which will basically resolve ‌everything, or we will ‌have an agreement with our creditors (to reprofile the bond)," he said.