July 24. Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has closed a deal to attract a USD 1.6 bn 5-year syndicated loan at LIBOR + 1.2% pa. The drawn funds will be used for refinancing the company's current debt, financing NLMK's capital investments pursuant to the technical re-equipment program, and for general corporate goals. "We are pleased to announce the successful closure of the deal to attract NLMK's first syndicated loan", NLMK vice-president in finance, Galina Aglyamova said. "In spite of the unfavorable conditions on the global financial markets, the largest international banks took part in arranging the loan, and finally the deal was closed with oversubscription to raise the volume of drawn funds. In our opinion, the loan should enable NLMK to finance the company's dynamic growth more efficiently and boost the structure of the company's capital", she added.