Russian state-owned diamond company Alrosa says it has raised a $500 million loan from Unicredit bank to refinance its debt. The loan, which has a current maturity of six months and can be extended to one year, comes as Alrosa moves ever closer to a share placement that could value the business at up to $15 billion.



The long-awaited Initial Public Offer of 14% of the firm’s shares has been postponed a number of times and is due to be finally carried out on the Moscow bourse in October or November.



The Russian federal government and the region of Yakutia have said they plan to raise at least $1 billion by each selling 7% of shares in Alrosa. The government owns 50.9% of the company, while Yakutia, also known as the Sakha Republic, where most of Alrosa's operations are based, owns 32%. Municipalities in the region own a further 8%.



Alrosa produces around a quarter of global supply and this year again expects to report a net profit of around $1 billion on revenue of more than $4.5 billion from production of around 34 million carats as it did in 2012.