OREANDA-NEWS. Moscow, Russian Federation - Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS" - NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has signed a binding agreement with MTS Bank OJSC ("MTS Bank") to acquire 952,000 ordinary shares of the Bank's additional shares issuance for RUB 3,639,286,560.

On October 30, 2014, Sistema, the largest shareholder of MTS Bank, announced the signing of a binding agreement with MTS Bank to acquire 2,474,818 ordinary shares of the Bank's additional shares issuance for RUB 9,460,684,754. Both Sistema and MTS participate in the additional share of issuance of MTS bank in proportion to their current direct ownership stakes.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of 2014 upon fulfillment of all conditions as set out in the shares issuance documentation.

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the leading telecommunications group in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world's fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 200 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT).