OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank and MegaFon have signed an agreement to open a RUB 35 bln credit line that will mature in 2024. The loan will be used to finance a transaction to acquire a 15.2% stake in the charter capital of Mail.Ru Group, which represents 63.8% of the voting stock.

The agreement also involves changing the the conditions for three existing credit lines worth a total of RUB 9.72 bln – interest rates will be lowered and the conditions for early repayment will be reviewed. MegaFon received these loans in 2012 and 2016.

"MegaFon is a longstanding and reliable partner, and we are interested in broadening our cooperation on mutually beneficial terms. We are delighted to support MegaFon in its transaction to acquire a stake in Mail.Ru Group, which has the potential to radically transform the telecoms market and launch the process of creating a new type of tech company," commented Alexander Bazarov, Senior Vice President, Co-Head of Sberbank CIB.

MegaFon is one of Russia’s leading telecoms operators. It operates in all segments of the Russian telecommunications market and also in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Tajikistan. MegaFon has been named the leading provider of mobile internet services in Russia, was the first Russian company to commercially launch a 3G network, and the first in the world to commercially launch an LTE-advanced (4G) network. MegaFon is listed on the Moscow Exchange and the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MFON.