Rusal agrees $200-mn loan to finance 20% QAL alumina stake

Rusal raised a $200-mn unsecured loan from the Paris-based Natexis Banques Populaires to partially refinance its purchase of a 20% stake in Australia's Queensland Alumina. As a result of the deal, the Russian company acquired an additional 770,000mt/year of alumina per year, and has an option to increase this to 1-mn mt/year through further expansion of QAL. (Platts - 05/17/05)