OREANDA-NEWS. January 05, 2010. Sistema (the “Group”) (LSE: SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in and is a major shareholder of companies operating in different industries, today announced the sale of its equity stakes in Ufaneftechim JSC (47.18%), Novoil JSC (61.57%), Ufaorgsintez JSC (51.49%) and Ufimskiy NPZ JSC (55.58%) to ANK Bashneft JSC (“Bashneft”). The objective of these transactions is to create a vertically integrated oil group.

Sistema is the largest public diversified financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which manages 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 USD 5.3 billion for the third quarter of 2009, and total assets of USD 42.0 billion as at September 30, 2009. 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).
 
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.