NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Russia's Sistema rallied Wednesday after the conglomerate sold a stake in its real estate subsidiary to state-controlled VTB Bank for less than $1 and gave the bank the option to take a controlling stake in the unit.
London-listed shares of Sistema (UK:SSA: news , chart , profile ) soared 11.6% in Wednesday trading.
The deal will be carried out in two stages. In the first stage completed Tuesday, VTB acquired a 19.5% stake in Sistema-Hals for 30 rubles (less than $1) and also received a call option to acquire a further 31.5% stake in the company for 30 rubles, Sistema said in a statement.
