OREANDA-NEWS. April 8, 2011. Rostelecom (the “Company”) (RTS, MICEX: RTKM, RTKMP; OTCQX: ROSYY), Russia’s national telecommunications operator, today announces that OJSC CentreTelecom, OJSC SibirTelecom, OJSC Dalsvyaz, OJSC Uralsvyazinform, OJSC VolgaTelecom, OJSC North-West Telecom, OJSC Southern Telecommunications Company and OJSC Dagsvyazinform (“the merged companies”) have today been excluded from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities following their merger with OJSC Rostelecom, which has assumed all rights and obligations of the merged companies. The legal process of creating an integrated company based on Rostelecom has therefore now been completed.

In accordance with Russian legislation, the ordinary and preferred shares and bonds of the merged companies will today be exchanged for newly issued Rostelecom ordinary shares and bonds. Trading in the respective shares and exchange-traded bonds of the merged companies has been discontinued with effect from March 28, 2011. 

Trading in the newly issued OJSC Rostelecom ordinary shares and exchange-traded bonds on the RTS and MICEX stock exchanges is expected to commence following the registration of the additional share and bond issue reports with the Federal Service for Financial Markets. The registration of the reports is to be made within 14 days of the filing of the reports.

Trading in the existing OJSC Rostelecom ordinary and preferred shares will continue as usual.

Alexander Provotorov, Chief Executive Officer of Rostelecom, commented: “We have now successfully completed this large scale and complex reorganisation. As a result, today we are the largest integrated telecommunications company in Russia, with an unrivalled network and the ability to become a clear leader in key market segments. The objective of the merger is to increase the pace and efficiency of the development of the combined telecommunication infrastructure. This will enable us to enhance our offering, introduce new services and provide nationwide solutions for our customers”.        

The decision to establish an integrated company by merging OJSC CentreTelecom, OJSC SibirTelecom, OJSC Dalsvyaz, OJSC Uralsvyazinform, OJSC VolgaTelecom, OJSC North-West Telecom, OJSC Southern Telecommunications Company and OJSC Dagsvyazinform with OJSC Rostelecom was approved at the Annual General Meeting of OJSC Rostelecom shareholders on June 26, 2010. The merged companies approved the reorganisation at their respective general shareholders’ meetings in the summer of 2010.