MOSCOW, July 11 (RAPSI) – During a hearing at the High Court of Justice of England and Wales on July 10, the majority of Rusal creditors voted for a scheme to refinance the aluminum giant’s $5.15 billion loans, the company said in a statement.

A total of 94% of Rusal’s creditors voted for the scheme at the court, which was authorized to convene a creditors’ meeting, Rusal said.
Another bank authorized to do this, the Royal Court of Jersey, will hold a hearing on July 15.

The refinancing scheme will be considered approved at both courts if 75% of the creditors vote for it.

Rusal said it was negotiating the approval of the scheme with the remaining creditors. To date, only the Royal Bank of Scotland has not approved the refinancing deal. Germany’s Portigon approved it after Rusal said it would seek court approval for mandatory refinancing.

The group of banks that syndicated Rusal loans consists of 23 banks. The balance on Rusal’s two loans is $3.55 billion.

Rusal, which is owned by Oleg Deripaska, took out the loans in 2008 to help finance the purchase of a 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel. It has struggled to meet repayment since 2011 following a collapse in the aluminum price and the value of its stake in Norilsk. Rusal posted a net loss of $3.2 billion in 2013 and had a net debt of $10.3 billion at the end of March.