Moscow, 21 December 2016 – X5 Retail Group N.V. ("X5" or "the Company"), a leading Russian food retailer (LSE ticker: "FIVE"), announces that it has signed a number of agreements with Sberbank CIB to obtain financing worth over RUB 45 bn for a period of up to three years. The loans will not increase the Company’s leverage, as the entire amount will be used to refinance existing debt, which will decrease the weighted average interest rate on X5’s loan portfolio as a result.
X5 and Sberbank CIB have been strategic partners since 2009, and these transactions will expand further the long-term cooperation between Russia’s largest bank and one of the country’s leading modern food retailers.
Anna Korzhova, X5’s Director of Treasury and Corporate Finance, said:
"Fostering collaboration with Sberbank in the area of lending has helped improve X5’s loan portfolio parameters and enabled us to refinance loans linked to the Bank of Russia’s key rate."
Igor Bulantsev, Senior Vice President, Acting Head of Sberbank CIB, commented:
"We have long been providing a wide range of banking products to X5, which is one of our key food retail clients. We plan to continue developing the current areas of cooperation, while also focusing on new potential transactions."
In Q3 2016, Sberbank CIB offered X5 a single loan limit of RUB 130 bn, providing for various forms of lending depending on the Company’s needs. In addition, this enables Sberbank to purchase and hold to maturity X5’s bonds.