FORM 6-K

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Report of Foreign Issuer
September 14, 2018

 

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Commission file number:  333-12032

 

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Russian Federation

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

4, Marksistskaya Street
Moscow 109147
Russian Federation

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

Form 20-F   x   Form 40-F   o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

Yes   o   No   x

 

 

 



 

 

MTS Bought One of the Largest Data Centers in Russia

 

September 14, 2018

 

Moscow, Russian Federation — MTS PJSC (NYSE: MBT, MOEX: MTSS), the largest Russian telecommunications operator and digital services provider, announces the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Avantazh LLC for RUB 8.9 bln (including net debt) from a group of private investors. Avantazh LLC owns the Avantazh data processing center project in Lytkarino, Moscow region, one of the largest data centers in Russia by number of racks.

 

Andrey Ushatsky, Vice President, Technology and IT, commented, “In recent years, Russian companies choose not to build their own corporate servers and prefer dealing with cloud providers that offer more attractive terms for data processing and storing, while providing a higher level of security and fault tolerance. MTS is actively increasing its presence in the Russian cloud services market through the acquisition and construction of its own data centers. The acquisition and commissioning of the Avantage data center will significantly increase MTS computing power and create a technological base for further B2B services expansion.”

 

The Avantazh data center project is 80% complete. Being a high-tech site with a total capacity of 20 MW, it will provide for the placement of 2,240 racks, using an area totaling 6,400 square meters across 16 halls. Solutions provided by the data center carry a Tier III Uptime Institute Design certificate regarding fault tolerance. MTS will provide colocation and #CloudMTS services based on the data center.

 

The data center in Lytkarino became the tenth in MTS federal network of data centers located in large Russian cities: three centers in Moscow, two in Nizhny Novgorod, one in Samara, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok and Krasnodar.

 

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For further information, please contact in Moscow:

 

Investor Relations Department

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC

Tel: +7 495 223 2025

E-mail: ir@mts.ru

 

Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at www.ir.mts.ru/ir-blog

 

* * *

 

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“MTS” - NYSE:MBT; MOEX:MTSS), the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, provides a range of mobile, fixed-line and digital services. We serve over 100 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Belarus, and about 9 million customers of fixed-line services, including fixed voice, broadband internet, and pay-TV. To keep pace with evolving customer demand, MTS is redefining what telecommunications services are by offering innovative products beyond its core network-related businesses in various tech segments, including Big Data, financial and banking services, internet of things, OTT, cloud computing, systems integration and e-commerce. We leverage our market-leading retail network as a platform for customer services and sales of devices and accessories. MTS maintains its leadership in the Russian mobile market in terms of revenue and profitability. MTS is

 

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majority-owned by Sistema PJSFC. Since 2000, MTS shares have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange and since 2003 - on the Moscow Exchange. For more information, please visit: www.ir.mts.ru.

 

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Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “will,” “could,” “may” or “might,” and the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.  We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not undertake or intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company’s most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the severity and duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of Russian, U.S. and other foreign government programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies, our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so, strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries and other risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

MOBILE TELESYSTEMS PJSC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Alexey Kornya

 

 

Name:

Alexey Kornya

 

 

Title:

CEO

 

 

 

 

Date:   September 14, 2018

 

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