1st Oct 2009 12:00
SISTEMA EGM TO CONSIDER SALE OF CONTROLLING STAKES IN FIVE BASHKIR ENERGY COMPANIES TO BASHNEFT
Sistema (the "Group") (LSE:SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in and is a major shareholder in companies operating in different industries, today announced that its Board of Directors has proposed to the Extraordinary General Meeting of Sistema shareholders to be held on November 16, 2009 that the EGM approves the sale of Sistema's stakes in Ufaneftechim JSC, Novoil JSC, Ufaorgsintez JSC, Ufimskiy NPZ JSC and Bashkirnefteprodukt JSC to ANK Bashneft JSC ("Bashneft"). Shareholders as at the record date of October 5, 2009 are eligible to participate in, and vote at, the EGM by proxy.
Sistema acquired a controlling stake in ANK Bashneft JSC in April 2009, and submitted a mandatory offer to the Federal Financial Markets Service on September 16, 2009 to acquire minority shares in ANK Bashneft JSC.
Vladimir Evtushenkov, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Sistema, commented: "As previously indicated, our objective is to build up a vertically integrated oil company that Bashneft will manage. The decision to sell the controlling stakes in the five Bashkir companies to Bashneft is the next step in the optimisation of the business processes of the Bashkir Oil and Energy Group."
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For further information, please visit www.sistema.com or contact:
| Sistema Investor Relations | Shared Value Limited | |
| Pavel Kim | Larisa Kogut-Millings | |
| Tel: +7 495 692 22 88 | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010 | |
Sistema is the largest public diversified financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which manages companies serving over 100 million customers in the sectors of telecommunications, high technology, oil and energy, radars and aerospace, banking, retail, mass-media, tourism and healthcare services. Founded in 1993, the company reported revenues of US$ 4.2 billion for the second quarter of 2009, and total assets of US$ 33.8 billion as at June 30, 2009. Sistema's shares are listed under the symbol "SSA" on the London Stock Exchange, under the symbol "AFKS" on the Russian Trading System (RTS), under the symbol "AFKC" on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX), and under the symbol "SIST" on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MSE).
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Sistema. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might" the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. In addition, there is no assurance that the new contracts entered into by our subsidiaries referenced above will be completed on the terms contained therein or at all. We do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, general economic conditions, our competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in our industries, as well as many other risks specifically related to Sistema and its operations.
Copyright Business Wire 2009
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