Metinvest BV is sounding out fixed-income investors on a potential return to the market after the Ukrainian steel and mining group had to fund the redemption of a bond using cash earlier this year.
The company is working with Morgan Stanley on a roadshow to assess what pricing would be achievable if it were to issue new debt and update investors on the business, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity discussing private meetings.
Spokespeople for Metinvest and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Metinvest, owned by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, spent the early months of this year negotiating a debt restructuring with its bondholders, which it then abandoned in favor of an attempt to issue new debt to refinance a $428 million bond, which came due in April.
The company has been heavily impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was where those defending the city made their last stand and some of its assets have been left stranded by movements in the front line. Meanwhile, higher energy and labor costs, as well as shortages, have also affected the business.
Nonetheless, market sentiment around Ukrainian issuers was improving at the start of 2026 and local agricultural company MHP was able to issue a new bond . Against this backdrop, representatives for Metinvest met with investors in London in February on a roadshow organized by Deutsche Bank, telling fund managers it was considering issuing a five-year bond.
But as the conflict between the United States and Iran started at the end of February, demand for higher-risk credit weakened, driving up yields and increasing the cost of issuing new debt. By the start of April a $500 million bond of Metinvest’s maturing in October 2029 was quoted at a yield of more than 12.5%, according to price data compiled by Bloomberg. That same bond is now indicated at 11.2%.
In the end Metinvest was able to fund its April 23 redemption using internal cash flow, although at the time the CEO, Yuriy Ryzhenkov, said the company would pursue opportunities in the bond market if conditions improved.
This week S&P Global Ratings upgraded Metinvest by two notches to CCC+, highlighting that the company faces no immediate liquidity pressure after repaying its bond in April. However, the ratings firm has a negative outlook on its assessment, saying Metinvest needs to build up a cash buffer over the coming quarters.