Sistema sells MTS ADRs with market value of $79 mln
MOSCOW. March 30 (Interfax) - AFK Sistema has sold 4,311,019 American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) for shares in Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) previously bought during the buyback announced on October 3, 2011, Sistema said in a statement.
The receipts have a market value of $79 million. When the market closed on Thursday, one MTS ADR was going for $18.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The receipts were sold on the open market, the AFK Sistema press service said.
Last fall, Sistema acquired in a buyback program 375,972 of its own GDR and 4,311,019 MTS ADR.
Then the operator's received were purchased for $13.92 apiece. Sistema was able to make about $20 million on receipts bought back earlier. The stake sold amounted to a little over 0.4% of MTS charter capital (1,993,326,138 shares).
Last December, Sistema President Mikhail Shamonlin was not ruling out a new buyback of AFK securities and MTS ADR if the market is favorable.