Russia's Mechel has sealed a debt restructuring agreement with VTB Bank, worth RUB 70bn ($1bn). Mechel OAO and the group's enterprises – Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO, Yakutugol Holding Company OAO and Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant PAO – act as borrowers on the loans. This will allow VTB to cut costs on loan-loss provisions for Mechel's debt at a time when the bank's profits have slumped, due to an economic downturn and Western sanctions. The indebted coal and steel producer has spent the year in talks with its three main creditors, Gazprombank, Sberbank and VTB over a $6.8bn debt restructuring plan. In April, Russian state gas giant Gazprom said it would sell off some of its assets as part of a plan to reduce debt.
Russia's Mechel has sealed a debt restructuring agreement with VTB Bank, worth RUB 70bn ($1bn). This will allow VTB to cut costs on loan-loss provisions for Mechel's debt at a time when the bank's profits have slumped, due to an economic downturn and Western sanctions. The indebted coal and steel producer has spent the year in talks with its three main creditors, Gazprombank, Sberbank and VTB over a $6.8bn debt restructuring plan. In April, Russian state gas giant Gazprom said it would sell off some of its assets as part of a plan to reduce debt.