PhosAgro (Moscow stock exchange, LSE: PHOR), the Russian vertically integrated Group, one of the major phosphorus-based fertilizer producers worldwide, arranged a debut Pre-Export Financing with a syndicate of international banks. UniCredit Bank Austria AG acted as one of Coordinating Mandated Lead Arrangers. Among other Coordinating Mandated Lead Arrangers were Société Générale and PJSC Rosbank. АО UniCredit Bank acted as Passport Banks. The other Passport Bank was  PJSC Rosbank.

Respective Facility Agreement has been signed by JSC PhosAgro-Cherepovets (PhosAgro Group) and the Banks for a total amount of $250 million and a 4-year maturity. The funds are planned to be used for refinancing of existing debt of the Group. The drawdown will start before the end of June.

Andrey Guriev, OAO PhosAgro General Director, commented: “It is pleasant that for the high-quality Borrowers like PhosAgro the cost of financing in foreign currency has returned to an attractive level. The new PXF is aimed for refinancing of existing shorter-term indebtedness of the Group as well as refinancing of more expensive debt; it will also serve as a benchmark transaction to test the market appetite for PhosAgro name and will allow us to have at our disposal a full range of finance instruments in anticipation of $500m Eurobond refinancing due in 2018.”

“As a member of a large international banking group UniCredit we are glad to support our long-time strategic partner PhosAgro in its successful development. The successful completion of this transaction has once again proven a leading position of UniCredit in the structured finance market”, said Kirill Zhukov-Emelyanov, Member of the Management Board of AO UniCredit Bank.

PhosAgro is a Russian vertically integrated company and one of the world’s leading producers of phosphate-based fertilisers. Its core line of business is the production of phosphate-based fertilisers, high-grade phosphate rock  (P2O5>35.7%), and also feed phosphates, nitrogen fertilisers and ammonia.

PhosAgro’s primary assets include Apatit, PhosAgro-Cherepovets (established as a result of the merger of Ammophos and Cherepovetsky Azot), Balakovo branch of OJSC Apatit, Metachem, PhosAgro-Trans, PhosAgro-Region and NIUIF.

The Company is Europe’s largest producer of phosphate-based fertilisers, the world’s largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock and the world’s second largest producer (excluding China) of MAP and DAP (according to Fertecon), Russia’s only producer of feed monocalcium phosphate (MCP), and also the sole producer of nepheline concentrate in Russia.