Court Delays Hearings of Sigma's Appeal of Stake Ownership in SMARTS

MOSCOW, Sep 29 (Prime-Tass) -- Russia's Samara Region Arbitration Court has postponed until October 31 hearings of an appeal filed by Sigma Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Sigma investment and consulting group, which seeks to get control over a minor stake in Russian regional mobile operator SMARTS, the operator said in a statement Friday.

On July 18, following a lawsuit filed by SMARTS shareholder Konstantin Kiryushin, the court ruled that Marshall Capital Partners, which was later bought by Sigma and renamed into Sigma Capital Partners, has illegally acquired a 0.125% stake in SMARTS and the right to claim a 20% stake. The 0.125% stake was bought from Kiryushin.

Sigma said that it had priority right to purchase the 20% minus one share stake when it was put up for sale by a SMARTS shareholder, while operator's other shareholders refused to buy it.

Sigma acquired the minor stake in SMARTS in mid-2005 before initiating a number of court cases seeking to increase its ownership in the mobile operator. In May, a court ruled that Sigma is the rightful owner of the disputable 20% stake in SMARTS.

SMARTS General Director Gennady Kiryushin, father of Konstantin Kiryushin, said earlier that SMARTS had been hit by numerous raider attacks aimed at reducing the company's value.

SMARTS' key shareholders are Gennady Kiryushin and his relatives, who directly and indirectly controls a roughly 80% stake and SMARTS' Chairman Boris Skvortsov, who controls about 15% in the company. Sigma is claiming its rights to shares currently controlled by Kiryushinand and his relatives.

SMARTS, or Middle-Volga Interregional Association of Radio and Telecommunication Systems, operates a GSM 900/1800 standard network in 16 regions of Russia.

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Posted to the site on 29th September 2006