Rosneft secures $30bn in loan pledges for TNK-BP purchase

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia’s largest oil company Rosneft has secured $30 billion in loan commitments, including $7.5 billion in long-term loans, from a syndicate of international banks to finance the purchase of TNK-BP, the company said in a Eurobond road-show presentation published on Monday, according to RIA Novosti.

State-run Rosneft also plans to place a loan participation note (LPN) totaling $10 billion to finance the acquisition, according to the presentation.

Rosneft announced in October it had reached agreements to buy 100 percent of Russia’s third largest crude producer TNK-BP from British oil major BP and the AAR consortium of Russian billionaire shareholders.

Under the terms of the deal, Rosneft will buy the whole of TNK-BP for $45.1 billion in cash and 12.84 percent of its stock.

BP will receive $17.1 billion in cash for its 50 percent stake plus stock representing 12.84 percent of Rosneft’s shares, while the AAR consortium of Russian billionaire shareholders will sell its 50 percent stake in the joint venture “for cash consideration of $28 billion.”

Rosneft signed a definitive agreement with BP on acquiring the British oil major’s 50 percent interest last week while the deal with AAR is at an advanced stage. The TNK-BP deal is expected to be closed in the first half of 2013.

The presentation suggests Rosneft also intends to finance the TNK-BP deal with its own funds. Rosneft had cash and financial assets equivalent to $15 billion on its consolidated balance sheets by late September 2012.