Documents related to the Bashneft reorganisation

Sistema publishes documents related to the reorganisation of Bashneft

Moscow, 18 May 2017 - Sistema PJSFC ("Sistema" or "the Company") (LSE: SSA, MOEX: AFKS), a publicly-traded diversified holding company operating primarily in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has received a legal claim filed with the Republic of Bashkortostan Arbitration Court by Rosneft and PJSOC Bashneft against the Company and its subsidiary Sistema-Invest JSC for the recovery of damages in the amount of RUB 106,629,934,819, allegedly incurred by the claimants due to the restructuring of PJSOC Bashneft. 

A preliminary legal hearing of the abovementioned claim is scheduled at the Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan on 6 June 2017. An analogous claim was previously filed by the claimants with the Arbitration Court of the City of Moscow. The court declined to hear the claim due to lack of jurisdiction.

Sistema disputes the claim, considers the demands of the claimants to be unlawful and unfounded and will present a detailed and substantiated response to all the topics and arguments raised by the claimants. 

Acting in the interest of all shareholders and investors, Sistema discloses all material information in accordance with stock exchange requirements and best practices, and intends to ensure maximum transparency in relation to all issues concerning the claim.

To this end Sistema has established a portal dedicated to the legal dispute, and has posted relevant information on the history of the issue, the state of the case and the positions of the parties: http://www.sistema.com/investors-shareholders/update-on-a-claim-involving-sistema/

The Company will provide regular updates on the court proceedings.

Sistema Group acquired the Bashkirian TEK enterprises in the period 2005-2009 at prices significantly above the market capitalisation of the assets. A complete reorganisation of the corporate structure was carried out as part of the subsequent transformation of the business, taking place in several stages with the aim of increasing the company's transparency and efficiency. Specifically, in preparation for an initial public offering in 2013-2014 the structure of cross-ownership of PJSOC Bashneft and Sistema-Invest was eliminated and an exit from non-core assets was completed.

The reorganisation conformed with law, served the interests of the involved shareholders, underwent required corporate approvals and was supported by the majority of PJSOC Bashneft's minority shareholders.

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Sistema PJSFC is a publicly-traded diversified Russian holding company serving around 150 million customers in the sectors of telecommunications, retail, agriculture, paper and packaging, high technology, banking, real estate, pharmaceuticals, tourism and healthcare services. Founded in 1993, the Company reported revenues of RUB 697.7 billion for 2016 and total assets of RUB 1.1 trillion as at 31 December 2016. Sistema's global depository receipts are listed under the symbol "SSA" on the London Stock Exchange. Sistema's ordinary shares are listed under the symbol "AFKS" on the Moscow Exchange. Website: www.sistema.com