According to a report published in the Italian newspaper Il Sole24Ore, after negotiations that lasted several months Russian tycoon Alexei Mordashov has signed an agreement with creditor banks in order to save the €770 million-indebted Italian steel company Lucchini which was acquired by Mordashov-owned Russian steelmaker Severstal in 2005.
During a meeting held in Moscow on February 2, the creditor banks in question (i.e., BNP Paribas, Intesa SanPaolo, MPS and UniCredit) and Mordashov decided to restructure Lucchini's debts on a long-term basis. In addition, as long as Lucchini manages to sell some power plants located in France, the banks will provide Lucchini with a new €50 million loan in order to ensure it has the necessary working capital.
It is reported that the solution satisfies both Lucchini and the banks. Mr. Mordashov was not willing to invest more funds in the steelmaker, which he does not consider as a strategic asset anymore and which has been put up for sale. Meanwhile, the banks neither wanted to be assigned shares in Lucchini nor did they want to wait for the sale of the company in order to receive the money they are owed.