MECHEL REPORTS SIGNING LOAN AGREEMENT WITH VTB

Moscow, Russia – April 10, 2013 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading
Russian mining and metals companies, announces signing an agreement with VTB
Bank for a 40-billion-ruble (approximately 1.3-billion-dollar*) loan.
The total of VTB Bank’s loaned funds will be used to refinance Mechel Group’s
current debt, so this loan will not increase its credit portfolio. 25 billion
rubles (some 800 million US dollars*) from these funds will be used to repay
short-term debt in 2013, including loans from VTB Bank and Mechel OAO’s ruble
bonds. This will enable the Group to significantly improve its liquidity and
bring down the risk of refinancing in the next 12 months.
The loan has a 15-month grace period followed by quarterly amortization, with
the final repayment date in 5 years after the agreement is signed. The interest
rate will depend on Mechel Group’s net debt to EBITDA ratio and is due to
decrease with the company’s deleveraging. Part of the interest rate will be up
for capitalization.
“VTB is our longstanding and reliable partner, and this deal is yet another
proof of how productive our cooperation is. Securing a new credit agreement with
VTB Bank will enable the company to refinance a large share of its loans which
are due to be repaid in 2013, which will significantly improve the group’s debt
structure in the next 12 months and afford us more flexibility in managing
operational cash flow,” Mechel OAO’s Chief Financial Officer Stanislav
Ploschenko noted.
According to VTB’s Deputy President-Chairman of the Management Board Yuri
Solovyov, “over the years of our cooperation, Mechel Group has shown itself to
be a quality borrower. Working with mining and steel companies is a
strategically important direction for VTB Group’s activities. We are ready to
ensure a stable financial platform for successful development of our partners’
business.”
* Based upon the Russian Central Bank exchange rate of 31.21 RUR/$ as of April
10, 2013.
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Mechel OAO
Anton Lapin
Tel: +7 495 221-88-88
antonlapin@mechel.ru
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Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includes four
segments: mining, steel, ferroalloy and power. Mechel unites producers of coal,
iron ore concentrate, nickel, ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, steel, rolled products,
hardware, heat and electric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and
internationally.
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Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other
forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial
performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that
these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may
differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. We refer you to
the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documents contain and
identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned
“Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our
Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among
others, the achievement of anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and
synergy of our recent acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the
ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of
developments in the Russian economic, political and legal environment,
volatility in stock markets or in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial
risk management and the impact of general business and global economic
conditions.