Russia-Based EvrazHolding Finance And Sibmetinvest Rated 'B+', Unsecured Notes Rated 'B+'; Outlook Stable

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1 November 24, 2011 Russia-Based EvrazHolding Finance And Sibmetinvest Rated 'B+', Unsecured Notes Rated 'B+'; Outlook Stable Primary Credit Analyst: Andrey Nikolaev, Paris (33) ; Secondary Contact: Elena Anankina, Moscow (7) ; We are assigning our 'B+' long-term ratings to EvrazHolding Finance LLC and LLC Sibmetinvest, the finance subsidiaries of Russian international steel producer Evraz Group S.A. We equalize the corporate ratings on the two finance subsidiaries with the rating on the ultimate parent Evraz Group S.A., owing to our view that there is a high probability that it would support the two subsidiaries if needed. We are assigning our 'B+' issue rating and '4' recovery rating to EvrazHolding Finance's RUB20 billion unsecured notes due 2021 issued in June 2011 and affirming the 'B+' rating on the notes previously issued by EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest. The stable outlook reflects the outlook on the parent. PARIS (Standard & Poor's) Nov. 24, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said it assigned its 'B+' long-term corporate credit ratings to EvrazHolding Finance LLC and LLC Sibmetinvest, the finance subsidiaries of Russia-based international steel producer Evraz Group S.A. (B+/Stable/--; Russia national scale rating 'rua'). The outlook on the ratings is stable. We also assigned our 'B+' issue rating and '4' recovery rating to the Series 5 and Series 7 Russian ruble (RUB)20 billion unsecured notes issued in June 2011 by EvrazHolding Finance and due in At the same time, we affirmed the 'B+' issue and '4' recovery ratings on the notes previously issued by EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest. 1

2 We equalize the corporate ratings on EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest with the rating on the ultimate parent Evraz Group S.A. based on our view of the high probability that it would provide support to the two subsidiaries if needed. Factors supporting our opinion include: Evraz Group S.A. has 100% indirect ownership and full management control of both subsidiaries. Evraz Group S.A. acts as surety for all debt issued by its finance subsidiaries. The proceeds of the previously issued bonds are onlent to and on the various companies within the group. The two finance subsidiaries are closely associated with Evraz Group S.A. and the default of one of them would limit Evraz Group S.A.'s access to financial markets, in our view. Evraz Group S.A.'s $950 million long-term pre-export facility documentation includes cross-default clauses with both EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest. Evraz Group S.A. provides support for the notes issued by EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest--as the holding company of the Evraz Group, the direct parent of the two finance subsidiaries-- in the form of suretyship agreements governed by Russian law. We understand that, under current Russian law, only credit institutions and insurance companies can provide on-demand guarantees. We believe that the suretyship undertakings provided by Evraz Group S.A. are a weaker form of support than on-demand guarantees and do not fully meet Standard & Poor's criteria on guarantees for rating substitution purposes, including in particular as regards the timeliness of payments of the guaranteed obligations. We understand in this respect that, under the Evraz Group S.A. surety agreements, the guarantor has 15 days to examine the claim of a noteholder and 10 additional days to make payment, to the extent the guarantor determines that the issuer did not pay the required amount in full. Under Standard & Poor's criteria, we expect the guarantor to pay the guaranteed obligations on demand as they fall due, which we interpret as no later than five business days after the due date for payment (see "Timeliness of Payments: Grace Periods, Guarantees, And Use Of 'D' And 'SD' Ratings," published Dec. 23, 2010). We also note that certain other features of the Evraz Group S.A. surety agreements are not consistent with an on-demand unconditional guarantee under our criteria (see "European Legal Criteria For Structured Finance Transactions, " published Aug. 28, 2008). For example, the guarantor does not waive its rights of set-off, counterclaim, and other defenses. Notwithstanding the above, we believe that the surety agreements, combined with the factors that justify our equalization of the corporate credit ratings on EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest explained in the opening paragraph of this section, have sufficient strength for us to equalize the recovery ratings on these instruments with the recovery ratings on the senior unsecured debt of the surety provider, Evraz Group S.A. The ratings on Evraz Group S.A. continue to reflect our opinion of its fair Standard & Poor s Research November 24,

3 business risk profile and aggressive financial risk profile. The company's financial risk profile is the key rating constraint. It includes large debt maturities in and the risk of cyclically weaker financial ratios in 2012 than those achieved before June 30, 2011, owing to potentially lower profits in fourth-quarter 2011 and 2012 in the mining segment. Rating positives are Evraz' somewhat reduced debt and improved maturity profile following a conversion of its convertible bond into equity and long-term bond issuance this year, and strong first-half 2011 results. Evraz' business risk profile is supported by a leading domestic market position, especially in long steel products; significant vertical integration into its own raw materials (iron ore and coal); and modest diversity from the group's international operations. Risk factors however are Evraz' exposure to the volatile steel sector and Russian country risks. The 'B+' issue rating on the notes issued by Sibmetinvest and EvrazHolding Finance reflects the 'B+' corporate credit ratings on these entities and our recovery rating of '4' on the notes. The stable outlooks on EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest reflect the stable outlook on Evraz Group S.A. Because we equalize the ratings on EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest with that on Evraz Group S.A., we expect the ratings on EvrazHolding Finance and Sibmetinvest to change in line with the ratings on Evraz Group S.A. RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH Update: Jurisdiction-Specific Adjustments To Recovery And Issue Ratings, June 20, Corporate Criteria: Analytical Methodology, April 15, 2008 Understanding Standard & Poor's Rating Definitions, June 3, 2009 Criteria Guidelines For Recovery Ratings On Global Industrials Issuers' Speculative-Grade Debt, Aug. 10, 2009 Methodology And Assumptions: Liquidity Descriptors For Global Corporate Issuers, Sept. 28, 2011 Criteria Methodology: Business Risk/Financial Risk Matrix Expanded, May 27, 2009 Additional Contact: Industrial Ratings Europe; [email protected] Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at Use the Ratings search box located in the left column. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's numbers: Client Support Europe (44) ; London Press Office (44) ; Paris (33) ; Frankfurt (49) ; Stockholm (46) ; or Moscow 7 (495)

4 Standard & Poor s Research November 24,

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