OREANDA-NEWS. February 04, 2011. We would like to let you know that on the 1st of February a Letter of Intent was signed between shareholders of RTS Stock Exchange and MICEX indicating in a non-binding way the intention of the MICEX shareholders to acquire a controlling stake in RTS.

The LOI provides for fixing legal and business terms of the deal subject to approval by all the interested parties by the 15th of April. By this time a plan will be drawn up setting a timeline for the deal stages and detailing how the joint entity will look like.

A prospective merger of the two major market operators is called for by the ambition to build a powerful exchange infrastructure in Russia that would meet the needs of market participants and would be competitive on the international level. This means that efforts for developing and improving the key services and technologies will be continued and reinforced.

All RTS markets are open and continue functioning normally and in full capacity. Announced services will be launched and improvements will be implemented as planned. RTS will proceed with its marketing policy aimed at raising the financial awareness of the population.

The parties involved in the deal are committed to ensuring smooth functioning of the infrastructure, avoiding any disruptions and protecting the rights of market participants and their customers.