OREANDA-NEWS. May 29, 2012. Rostelecom OJSC (MICEX - RTS: RTKM, RTKMP; OTCQX: ROSYY), Russia’s national telecommunications operator, today announces that OJSC National Telecommunications (“NTK”), its wholly-owned subsidiary, has won a tender to acquire 1.74 billion ordinary shares (representing a 26% shareholding) in OJSC Mosteleset (“Mosteleset”) for a total cash consideration of RUB 1.8 billion. Mosteleset, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Mostelecom, owns data and pay TV networks in Moscow, which are used by the NTK Group of companies[1] to provide services to their subscribers. According to the terms of the tender, it is expected that the sale agreement will be signed and the transaction concluded in the near future. NTK’s acquisition of a 26% stake in Mosteleset gives Rostelecom 100% control of Mosteleset.

Alexander Provotorov, President of Rostelecom, commented: “The consolidation of a 100% stake in Mosteleset enables us to fully integrate NTK’s network infrastructure into the structure of Rostelecom, to take forward the legal restructuring and consequently streamline our asset management structure. Rostelecom will also stop accounting for Mosteleset’s minority shareholders in its consolidated financial reports. Additionally, it becomes easier for Rostelecom to manage Mosteleset and it gives us the flexibility to carry out capital construction and network modernisation programmes quickly in order to provide high quality services to Moscow subscribers.”

[1] NTK, through Mosteleset, also controls a 51% stake in OJSC Makomnet, which owns the network in the Moscow Metro and provides services to some of NTK’s corporate clients