Through its 100% owned subsidiary OJSC RTK Leasing, RostelecomLeasing AG (Switzerland) acquired a 95% interest in the telecom holding RTDC Holdings Inc. (USA), which holds large share packages of a number of Russian telecom operators, such as Westtelecom, NSS, MSS, Delta Telecom, Dontelecom, Emissaytelecom, Baikalwestcom, Uralwestcom, AKOS and Sayan Telecom.  

OJSC Svyazinvest supports the decision of RTK Leasing to purchase the above-mentioned block of RTDC shares and considers this deal a real opportunity to consolidate its assets under the framework of the ongoing Svyazinvest mega-regional merger process.  

As stated by Svyazinvest CEO Valery Yashin, "this deal is advantageous from the business standpoint.  At the present time work is being done on the development strategy of cellular companies where Svyazinvest has considerable stakes and this strategy will now be pursued in view of the RTDC acquisition.  The Holding definitely views the development of cellular business as one of its core business areas".   

The equity in cellular operators held by RTDC is to be sold to the mega-regional companies run by Svyazinvest, based on their fair market value.  

Russian telecom operators will acquire RTDC shares on a case-by-case basis depending on the financial feasibility and status of each mega-regional entity.  

Top-priority acquisition targets for Svyazinvest include Eninsaytelecom, Baikalwesttelecom, Uralvesttelecom, NSS and AKOS.  

Rostelecom is mostly interested in acquiring Vestelecom, a joint venture with RTDC used for transferring international traffic.  This deal will make it possible to create favorable conditions for Vestelecom's operation, ensure the integrity of Rostelecom's network and help Rostelecom better interact with mega-regional operators.