(Adds paragraphs 3-10)
MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) - AFK Sistema (RTS: AFKS; LSE: SSA) plans to sell up to 10% of its high-tech arm Sitronics' shares to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the telecommunications company's chief executive said Friday.
"We are likely to sell a small package, 5-10% of Sitronics, to the EBRD," Vladimir Yevtushenkov said, adding that the company was developing dynamically.
Yevtushenkov, Sistema founder, chairman of the board of directors and main shareholder (62.1%), said the company had completed May 28 a deal to buy 51% in Greek company Intracom Telecom but did not name the sum of the transaction.
However, in February, Sistema said a preliminary agreement had been reached to buy the stake for 120 million euros ($154 million).
Yevtushenkov also said Sistema, which was founded in 1993, was also planning to sell up to 10% in the Moscow Bank for Reconstruction and Development (MBRD) to the EBRD in 2006, though again declined to say how much the deal would be worth.
Sitronics, founded in 1997, is a high-tech subsidiary of AFK Sistema, which holds a 94.5% stake in it. The company produces audio-visual equipment, household electronic goods, and computer equipment. It also incorporates the Czech Republic's Strom telecom.
The other shareholders in Sitronics are German company Ned Electronic (2.5%) and the company's management (3%).
Intracom Telecom provides full telecommunications solutions and services on the markets of the EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. It provides a number of products related to broadband Internet access for fixed and mobile communications and data transfer systems.
The MBRD is among Russia's 50 largest banks in terms of assets. In July 2005, AFK Sistema increased its stake in the bank from 54.3% to 60.7%. The MBRD's earnings in 2005 grew 62.4% year-on-year to $106.8 million.
AFK Sistema manages businesses in service-based industries, including telecommunications, technology, insurance, banking, real estate, retail, and media.
