Moscow, Russian Federation – Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” – NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has repaid loans in the amount of EUR 413 million to a consortium of banks led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and has successfully renegotiated downwards the interest rate on a credit line with the Bank of Moscow.
The EUR 413 million repayment was made on the loans received from the EBRD, the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The agreements were initially signed in June 2009. The loans were used to finance the development of 2G and 3G mobile networks in the Company’s markets of operation.
The EBRD loan was in the amount of EUR 218 million and had two tranches; the first tranche of EUR 115 million had a 7-year maturity, while the second tranche of EUR 103 million had a 3-year maturity. The NIB loan was in the amount of EUR 80 million with two tranches of EUR 40 million each and maturities of 7- and 3-years. The EIB loan was in the amount of EUR 115 million and had a 7-year maturity.
In addition, MTS decreased the annual interest rate on the RUB 22 billion Bank of Moscow credit line from 10.25% to 8.99%.
Alexey Kornya, acting Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MTS, commented, “The optimization of our debt position is testament to the Company’s strong financial position and determined effort to lower our cost of debt. Our ability to secure financing with lower interest charges and longer maturities provides us with an opportunity to eliminate the more costly instruments in our debt portfolio.”
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