29 Aug 2017 07:00
Effect on Sistema's debt obligations of injunction in case brought by Rosneft and Bashneft
Moscow, Russia - 28 August 2017 - Sistema PJSFC ("Sistema" or "the Corporation") (LSE: SSA, MOEX: AFKS), a publicly traded diversified Russian holding company, announces that on 28 August 2017 a technical default occurred on credit obligations of the Corporation amounting to the equivalent of RUB 8.9 billion.
The technical default took place due to the ongoing arrest of shares of MTS, Medsi and Bashkirian Power Grid Company owned by the Corporation and Sistema-Invest. The arrest was imposed by the Republic of Bashkortostan Arbitration Court as part of legal proceedings initiated by Rosneft, Bashneft and the Republic of Bashkortostan against Sistema and Sistema-Invest. Other than the credit obligations disclosed earlier and mentioned above, the Corporation's remaining loan agreements do not contain a condition whereby this arrest of shares will lead to a technical default.
In accordance with market practice Sistema asked lenders to provide waivers in connection with the event of technical default.
Sistema stresses that the non-compliance with certain conditions of some of its credit facilities that triggered the technical default is driven exclusively by the arrest of the above-mentioned assets and is purely formal in nature. Sistema continues to service its credit and financial obligations on time and in full, and plans to continue doing so in the future.
Sistema believes that the arrest of its assets is unfounded, and continues to take necessary steps to have the arrest lifted. To this end the Corporation has filed an appeal with the 18th Arbitration Court.
***
For further information, please visit www.sistema.ru or contact:
IR Service | Press service |
Yury Krebs | Sergey Kopytov |
Tel.: +7 (495) 730 66 00 | Tel.: +7 (495) 228 15 32 |
y.krebs@sistema.ru | kopytov@sistema.ru |
***
This announcement contains inside information. Full name and position of person making the announcement - Yuri Krebs, Director, Investor Relations
Sistema PJSFC is a publicly traded diversified Russian holding company serving over 150 million customers in such sectors as telecommunications, retail, paper and packaging, agriculture, high technology, banking, real estate, pharmaceuticals, tourism and healthcare services. The company was founded in 1993. Its revenue in 2016 reached RUB 697.7bn; its total assets equalled RUB 1.1tn as of 31 December 2016. Sistema's global depositary receipts are listed under the "SSA" ticker on the London Stock Exchange. Sistema's ordinary shares are listed under the "AFKS" ticker on the Moscow Exchange. Website: www.sistema.ru