Tata Steel in talks to refinance $5.4-b debt

MUMBAI: Tata Steel began talks with lenders, including Citigroup, to refinance as much as £3.5 billion ($5.4 billion) in loans for its UK unit, six people with knowledge of the matter said.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas are also a part of the negotiations, the people said, declining to be identified before an official announcement. The existing debt is due to be paid between 2012 and 2014 and talks may be completed early next month, one of the persons said.

Tata Steel took the loans to fund its $12.9-billion acquisition of Corus in 2007, just before the global economic slump pared demand for steel and caused banks to curtail lending.