MOSCOW--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2013
SISTEMA COMPLETES ANOTHER STAGE IN THE REORGANISATION OF ITS TRANSPORTATION ASSETS
Moscow, Russia – July 3, 2013 – Sistema JSFC (“Sistema”, the “Group” or the “Company”) (LSE: SSA), the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS, today announces the completion of another stage in the reorganisation of the Group’s transportation assets under the SG-trans OJSC (“SG-trans”) brand: Sistema has sold a 15% stake in SG-trans to Unirail Holdings Limited (“Unirail”) for RUB 2.5 billion. As a result of this deal, Unirail and Sistema now each own 15% stakes in SG-trans.
As previously announced, 70% of SG-trans is owned by Financial Alliance LLC (“Financial Alliance”), whilst Sistema and Unirail each hold 50% stakes in Financial Alliance.
Upon completion of the reorganisation, Sistema and Unirail will have equal ownership of, and management rights over, the railway assets, sharing the risks and the initial investments of Sistema.
The final stage of the restructuring of Sistema’s rail assets involves the merger of Financial Alliance with SG-trans under the SG-trans brand. This will result in a new combined entity in which each party will own a 50% stake. Sistema and Unirail will conduct the operational and strategic management of the company on a parity basis.
In addition, as previously announced, Sistema plans to sell 100% of SG-trading (comprised of SG-trans’ former non-core assets relating to LPG storage and trading) to a third party.
The completion of the reorganisation and restructuring of the Group’s transportation assets remains subject to the execution and implementation of legally binding documents and receipt of necessary governmental and corporate approvals by all parties.
Further steps in the strategic integration of the Group’s transportation assets will be announced in due course.
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For further information, please visit www.sistema.com or contact:
| Investor Relations | Public Relations | |||
| Evgeniy Chuikov | Yulia Belous | |||
| Tel: +7 (495) 692 1100 | Tel: +7 (495) 730 1705 | |||
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$ 8.3 billion for the first quarter of 2013, and total assets of US$ 44.9 billion as at March 31, 2013. 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 MICEX-RTS Stock Exchange. Sistema was ranked number 315 in the 2011 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.
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.