Almost immediately after the consolidation of Polyus Gold for $ 5.4 billion in 2015 (at that time, the loan was provided by VTB), the operating company controlled by it, Polyus, conducted a buy-back of shares and the subsequent redemption of shares. The money for this "Pole" took in Sberbank ($ 2.5 billion) in early 2016, so the debt of the parent company was distributed between it and the operating structure.

In the summer of 2016, Sberbank issued $ 6.2 billion to Sacturino Ltd. companies. And Wandle Holdings Ltd. (Through them Senator Suleiman Kerimov and his son Sayid control Polyus Gold). It took money to refinance the debt to VTB. Two sources of Vedomosti, close to the company and the bank, then told that the pledge for a loan in Sberbank was more than 90% of Polyus Gold.

Now the pledge of Polyus Gold can be reduced. Last Friday, Polyus Gold pledged 50% plus one share of Polyus Gold. The pledge is necessary to fulfill credit obligations, the package remained in the company's ownership, as well as the right to vote in shares and receive dividends, writes Polyus Gold in the message.

It's about a loan to Sberbank, says the source, "Vedomosti", close to one of the parties to the transaction. "A pledge of 50% plus one share is part of the technical procedure in the transfer of already existing debt, including debt to Sberbank, with Wandle on Polyus Gold. There is no question of restructuring, refinancing or new debt, "says another interlocutor who is close to the deal. Representatives of Polyus and Sberbank declined to comment on this.

No significant consequences for Polyus, this deal will not have, I am confident analyst Aton Andrei Lobazov. "The bank needed a clearer pledge," the BCS analyst Oleg Petropavlovski agrees.

In early June, Polyus Gold agreed to sell 10% of Polyus for $ 886.9 million to Chinese Fosun and its partners - Hainan Mining and Zhaojin Mining. Investors received the option for another 5% for $ 495 million. The deal should be closed before the end of the year, according to which companies will still need to receive regulatory approval.

A month later Polyus Gold sold 9% of Polyus at the Moscow Stock Exchange (increasing the number of shares in free float to 15.5%). If the deal with the Chinese takes place, by the end of 2017 Polyus Gold will own 72.73% of the gold subsidiary, and if Fosun sells the option, the share will decrease to 67.73%. In addition, the company does not exclude the further increase in free float, said Polyus CEO Paul Grachev in early July. But, he stressed, first we need to realize the announced plan for increasing production and wait for the growth of multiples to levels at which comparable international counterparts trade. The "Pole" will have to invest in the development of the Dry Log, whose reserves are estimated at 97 million ounces of gold and 54.3 million ounces of silver.

It turns out that the mortgage of the parent company is falling in price because of the fact that Polyus Gold reduces the share of ownership in the "Pole", says Petropavlovskiy. It is clear that the bank required other collateral, it became the shares of the "Pole" itself. Another point of view is shared by the director of the Center for Economic Forecasting of Gazprombank Air Bank Khalikov and the general director of the Sputnik investment company Alexander Losev. Now all the actions of Polyus, which can have a significant impact on business performance, should be coordinated with the creditor bank, Khalikov is sure. Now the total debt of Polyus is $ 4.6 billion, net debt is $ 3.1 billion, and its ratio to adjusted EBITDA is 2.