1st Oct 2010 13:00
SISTEMA CONTINUES REORGANIZATION OF TELECOMS ASSETS
Moscow, Russia - October 1, 2010 - Sistema JSFC (LSE: SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in, and is a major shareholder of, companies operating in different industries, today announced the initial steps regarding the completion of the transactions described in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between OJSC Comstar-UTS, Sistema JSFC and OJSC Svyazinvest on November 23, 2009, which was disclosed previously.
In particular:
OJSC Comstar-UTS and its subsidiary MGTS Finance S.A. transferred a 25% + 1 share in Svyazinvest to OJSC Rostelecom in return for a cash payment of RUB 26 billion, with OJSC Comstar-UTS using the proceeds to pay off its debt obligations to Sberbank ahead of schedule. CJSC Sistema-Inventure, a subsidiary of Sistema JSFC, made a cash payment of RUB 450 million to OJSC Svyazinvest in connection with the agreement to exchange shares in OJSC MGTS for shares in CJSC Sky Link.The following transactions remain to be completed:
OJSC Svyazinvest's transfer of 28% of ordinary shares in OJSC MGTS (23.3% of the share capital of MGTS) to CJSC Sistema-Inventure, a subsidiary of Sistema in exchange for Sistema-Inventure's transfer of 50% of ordinary shares in CJSC Sky Link (which combined with the indirect ownership effectively totals 100% of the Sky Link's share capital). JSFC Sistema's sale of CJSC Sky Link's shareholder debt and debt of certain subsidiaries of Sky Link to subsidiaries of OJSC Svyazinvest.Because all of the transactions described in the Memorandum of Understanding are inter-linked, the overall deal cannot be considered fully completed until all of the transactions are closed.
For further information, please visit www.sistema.com or contact:
| Investor Relations | Public Relations | |||
| Ekaterina Tsukanova | Vsevolod Sementsov | |||
| Tel: +7 (495) 228 1536 | Tel: +7 (495) 730 1705 | |||
Sistema is the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in and is a major shareholder of 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$ 6.9 billion for the second quarter of 2010, and total assets of US$ 40.2 billion as at June 30, 2010. 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 RTS Stock Exchange, under the symbol "AFKC" on the MICEX Stock Exchange, 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.
This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any shares or other securities of JSFC Sistema and/or any of its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, nor shall any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form part of or be relied on in connection with any contract or investment decision relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares or securities of JSFC Sistema and/or any of its subsidiaries and affiliated companies.
Copyright Business Wire 2010
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