MOSCOW--Russian steel and coal producer OAO Mechel (MTL) has
restructured some of its debt with Russia's biggest lender, OAO
Sberbank (SBER.RS), the bank's chief executive said Thursday,
Russian news agencies reported.
The Sberbank chief, German Gref, said a normal process of debt
restructuring was taking place, without specifying what debt was
under discussion, Interfax and Prime news agencies reported.
His comments come after a more than 40% drop in Mechel's share
price late Wednesday. The shares partially recovered Thursday.
Mr. Gref said he doesn't understand why the stock price plunged
Wednesday and nothing out of the ordinary is happening at Mechel
that the bank is aware of.
Mechel said Wednesday that talks with a number of banks over a
covenant vacation are continuing and should be completed by the end
of November. The covenant reprieve would give the company more room
to work out debt refinancing terms without fear of repercussions
from lenders.
Agency website: www.interfax.ru, www.1prime.ru
Write to Moscow Bureau at djnews.moscow@dowjones.com
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