Rusal Cuts Debt After Prokhorov, Banks Get IPO Cash

MOSCOW, Feb. 4 -- United Co. Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer, cut its debt after paying $2.14 billion to banks and billionaire shareholder Mikhail Prokhorov from the cash raised by last month's Hong Kong initial public offering.

Rusal's debt declined to $12.9 billion, the Moscow-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. It gave foreign lenders $1.46 billion, Prokhorov $278 million, Russian banks $253 million, and paid $152 million in fees.

The aluminum producer, whose largest shareholder is Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, started trading in Hong Kong Jan. 27 after the company raised $2.24 billion in the IPO. Rusal was barred from marketing its stock to retail investors in Hong Kong on concerns over the company's borrowings.

Rusal signed an accord in December with 70 creditors in Russia's biggest corporate debt restructuring.

Rusal fell 11 cents, or 1.2 percent, to HK$9.41 in Hong Kong. The stock has dropped 13 percent since it began trading, valuing the company at HK$142.4 billion ($18.3 billion).