Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, July 24 (Interfax) - Kyiv-based Alfa-Bank's $450 million in eurobonds, set to mature in July 2010 with a yield of 9.25%, will be exchanged for new eurobond issues in U.S. dollars with a yield of 12% and set to mature in 2012, Ukraine Issuance plc, the bonds' issuer, said in a statement.

The statement said that the new bonds have partial redemption in cash through the swap. The holders of the initial issue approved the swap yesterday.

The new eurobonds will mature on July 30, 2012 and will be issued through Ukraine Issuance plc. The bonds will be redeemed in different parts starting from the second year of placement while their coupon will be paid on a quarterly basis. The eurobonds will be on the Irish Stock Exchange.

The bank has yet to confirm the size of the new eurobond issue in the framework of this swap.

It was earlier reported that Kyiv-based Alfa-Bank made an offer on July 1, 2009 to the holders of its eurobonds regarding the new issue with maturation in 2012. These new bonds can be received in return for three previous issues. At the same time, holders of eurobonds set to mature in December 2009 (tabulated at $1,000 each at face value) will receive $270 in cash and $730 in new eurobonds. For the issue set to mature in July 2010, these figures come to $150 and $850, respectively. For the issue maturing in August 2011 and the August 2009 put-option these figures come to $270 and $730, respectively.

At the same time, the bank has made an offer to investors who will not participate in the swap at these terms but support the proposal to exchange the issues and decline the put option for 2011. This plan sees the bonds with maturation in 2009-2010 swapped at $1,000 and the bonds set for maturation 2011 swapped at $100 in cash and $900 in new eurobonds.

The first to be swapped was eurobonds-2011 coming to $250 million at 12%. The total issue of the new bonds for holders comes to $185.404 million.

The term when holders of Alfa-Bank eurobonds, set to mature in 2009 (worth 345 million with a yield of 9.75%) and 2010, could accept the offer ran out on July 14. Prior to this, over 80% of the holders of each of the issues already decided to participate in the swap, which allowed the bank to forecast a positive outcome for the exchange. The final applications in the swap were accepted until July 21. A meeting of eurobond holders was slated for July 23.

Ukrainian Alfa-Bank was 47th largest CIS bank and 10th biggest Ukrainian bank as of the end of 2008 by assets according to the Interfax-1000, compiled by the Interfax Center for Economic Analysis (CEA).