Ukrainian Steelmaker Metinvest Fails to Agree Debt Restructuring With Creditors

Metinvest's Debt Restructuring Talks with Creditors End Without Agreement

Debt Restructuring Efforts by Metinvest

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Talks between Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest and a core group of its creditors broke up on Tuesday after the two sides failed to reach a deal to restructure more than $1.25 billion of debt.

Details of the Debt and Negotiation

The company is bidding to push out the maturity of the debt, or payback dates, of its three main bonds by between two and three years given the damage inflicted during the near 4-year war with Russia.

Market Reactions and Future Plans

"Despite the extended and constructive discussions, and while there has been a material narrowing of the parties’ positions.... Metinvest and the Ad Hoc Group (of bondholders) have been unable to reach ultimate agreement," Metinvest said in a statement.

Despite the breakdown, the bonds at the centre of the discussions rallied sharply, as traders bet Metinvest, whose huge Azovstal plant was a key battleground with Russian forces early in the war, would have to come back with an improved offer.

The steelmaker said it would explore "alternative liability management transactions", but would also "continue to engage constructively with all of its stakeholders".

It owes more than $1.25 billion on three dollar-denominated bonds due to mature this year, next year and 2029. It wants to push those payments out to October 2029, 2030 and 2031 respectively.

It had offered to pay 9.5%, 8.65% and 8.75% on those new bonds, whereas creditors had asked for 9.5%, 9.65% and 9.75%, and wanted higher and earlier-starting "amortisation" payments than Metinvest had proposed.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by David Holmes)