Sistema Sells 50% Voting Stake in MTT

13 Mar 2009 09:30

SISTEMA SELLS 50% VOTING STAKE IN MTT

Moscow, Russia - March 13, 2009 - Sistema (LSE: SSA), the largest diversified public corporation in Russia and the CIS, which manages fast growing companies operating in the telecommunications, consumer services sectors and technology industries, today announced that it has signed an agreement with CJSC Synterra Group to sell its 43.4% stake (50% of voting shares) in MTT. In addition, Synterra Group will assume MTT's intercompany debt obligations to Sistema. The deal is expected to be reached for a total cash consideration of approximately US$ 54 million. The completion of the deal is contingent upon the fulfillment of a number of conditions.

A number of new telecom players have recently emerged on the Russian domestic and international long-distance telecommunications market. Presently, other mobile and fixed-line operators, including Sistema's key telecom businesses, MTS and Comstar-UTS, are actively building their own long-distance networks. The sale of MTT will reduce the level of competition among Sistema Group companies and decrease the overall debt.

Leonid Melamed, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The sale of 50% stake in MTT is in line with our stated strategy to optimize the portfolio of telecommunication businesses. This transaction is a logical step towards eliminating the duplication of services within our portfolio of companies."

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

Sistema Investor Relations Shared Value LimitedPavel Kim Larisa Kogut-MillingsTel: +7 495 692 22 88 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010ir@sistema.ru sistema@sharedvalue.net

Sistema is the largest public diversified corporation in Russia and the CIS, which manages fast growing companies operating in the telecommunications, consumer services sectors and technology industries and has over 100 million customers. Sistema develops and manages market-leading businesses in selected industries, including telecommunications, technology, banking, real estate, retail, media, tourism and healthcare. Founded in 1993, the company reported revenues of US$ 12.6 billion for the first nine months of 2008 (unaudited), and total assets of US$ 32.0 billion as at September 30, 2008 (unaudited). 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).

Synterra Group is a group of telecommunication service providers which includes Synterra, PeterStar, Global Teleport, EuroTel and a number of regional companies, operating in the telecommunication market since 1992. Synterra is a member of PromSvyazCapital Group. The Group's companies are licensed to provide local telephone services in 22 regions of the Russian Federation, domestic and international long distance telephone services, data communication services, telematic communication and communication channels in the Russian Federation.

The infrastructure of Synterra Group is present throughout the Russian Federation. The in-ground long distance network covers over 70 regions, extending to approximately 68,000 kilometres and over 40 access points of satellite communication lines in 13 regions.

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.

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