AFK Sistema OAO : Sistema acquires MTS shares

Sistema acquires MTS shares

Moscow, Russia - December 27, 2013 - Sistema JSFC ("Sistema") (LSE: SSA), the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS, today announces that its wholly owned subsidiary Sistema Finance SA has acquired 6,730,360 of MTS ordinary shares, representing 0.3% of charter capital, on the open market between the period of December 3 and December 18, 2013 for a total consideration of approximately US$ 64 million. As a result, Sistema's effective shareholding in MTS has increased to 53.47%[1]. MTS shares were purchased for general corporate purposes. 

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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$ 9.3 billion for the third quarter of 2013, and total assets of US$ 44.4 billion as at September 30, 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 2012 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. 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.