Alro Slatina negotiates for $180 million EBRD loan

Aluminium producer Alro Slatina, which is floating on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, is currently negotiating with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for a $180 million loan, to refinance most of the company's debt, the company has announced. Out of the financing package, $105 million will be syndicated to commercial banks, which include the company's current creditors. The EBRD loan would help create a stable financial structure for the company and ease the consolidation process. The financing agreement would allow the company to continue its $50 million investment plan scheduled between 2010 and 2012, which should go into product improvement, energy efficiency projects, environment protection and work safety projects. The EBRD has finalized a due-diligence on Alro and the project will be submitted to its board on June 8. Alro posted a $25.6 million profit last year, at a turnover of around $462.5 million. Alro is a subsidiary of Vimetco, international producer of primary and processed aluminium.