Metinvest buys back USD 142 mln of 2026 bonds

Ukraine’s largest steelmaker Metinvest (METINV)
decided to purchase USD 142.48 mln of its 2026 notes, according to its
regulatory announcement on Aug. 19. The purchase price is set at USD 114.9% of
par. After the purchase, the amount of bonds outstanding will decrease to USD
505.18 mln. The settlement date is expected to be today.

Recall, the company intended to purchase up to USD
250 mln of principal amount of 2026 bonds at a price of no lower than 114% of
par.

Alexander Paraschiy: The purchase price was slightly above the market prices seen on
Bloomberg (114.1% to 114.4% of par between Aug. 9 and 19) and above the
historical maximum (114.7% seen in June). It seems that holders of less than
USD 250 mln agreed to tender their notes, so the issuer decided to limit the
purchase in order to keep amount of the notes outstanding above the USD 500 mln
threshold which will allow the notes to remain in two important JP Morgan
indices (CEMBI and CEMBI Diversified). We maintain our neutral view on METINV
bonds.