SSA.L Regulatory News (SSA)

30 Oct 2014 15:30

Statement regarding JSOC Bashneft proceedings

Moscow, Russia – October 30, 2014 – Sistema JSFC (“Sistema”) (LSE: SSA), the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS, announces that today the Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court of the City of Moscow ruled in favour of the civil claim seeking to return the shares of JSOC Bashneft owned by Sistema and its subsidiary Sistema-Invest to the Russian Federation.

Under Russian law, Sistema has a period of one month from the date of issue of the written decision to appeal. Sistema disagrees with the decision and is considering an appeal. If Sistema does appeal, the decision will not come into effect until such time as the appeal is determined.

Sistema emphasizes that its investments continue to operate as normal, and the majority are profitable and require no funding from Sistema. Their activities are unaffected by today’s decision.

However, the ongoing litigation could have a significant negative impact on the investment strategy, financial condition and financial obligations of Sistema itself, particularly if the decision to return the Bashneft shares, owned by Sistema and Sistema-Invest, comes into force. Sistema is in discussions with relevant stakeholders to determine the potential impact of the litigation and potential outcomes.

Further announcements will be made as appropriate.

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For further information, please visit www.sistema.com or contact:

Sistema is the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company 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$ 8.8 billion for the second quarter of 2014, and total assets of US$ 45.2 billion as at June 30, 2014. 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. Sistema was ranked number 308 in the 2013 edition of the Fortune Global 500 list. Website: www.sistema.com

The Company is not an investment company, and is not and will not be registered as such, under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940.

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. 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 2014