Luxembourg and Moscow, 1 July 2005 – The Board of Directors of RAO Unified Energy Systems today announced its intention to sell its 70 per cent shareholding in REN TV, the Russian television network, to Severstal, a Russian industrial Group. Earlier today RTL Group, Europe’s leading television and production group, announced the acquisition of the 30 per cent shareholding in REN TV from the founders Iren Lesnevskaya and Dmitry Lesnevsky. The transaction is subject to regulatory and corporate approvals.

Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group, said: “The new shareholders will give REN TV the strength and stability to become one of the leading commercial channels in Russia. We look forward to working with Severstal to achieve our challenging goals.”

Alexey Mordashov, CEO of Severstal Group, said: “The fact that RTL Group, the leading German and pan-European media company is now coming to Russia is a very significant and strategically important event. I am convinced that this will further stimulate Russian-German economic relations. It also sends an important signal to the Western investment community: not only raw-materials sectors of Russian economy can be attractive for investments”.

For further information:

Andrew Buckhurst
Senior Vice President
External Communications and Investor Relations
RTL Group
Phone: 00352/2486 5075 or 5130
E-mail: andrew.buckhurst@rtlgroup.com

 
About Severstal Group

The core business of Severstal is metallurgy. The steel-making division unites assets of Severstal (Cherepovets, Russia), Severstal North America, and Group of Lucchini (uniting 20 industrial plants located in Italy, France, Poland, Great Britain and Sweden).
According to preliminary unaudited financial results, in 2004, the steel-making division produced 12.8 million tonnes of crude steel. The total sales were USD 6,415 million, a two-fold increase compared to USD 3,202 million in 2003. EBITDA increased to USD 2,376 million, with a margin of 37.0 per cent, versus EBITDA of USD 1,002 million and a margin of 31.3 per cent in 2003. The net profit increased by 127 per cent to USD 1,344 million, compared to USD 591 million in 2003.

About RTL Group

RTL Group is Europe's leading commercial broadcaster, with interests in 31 television channels and 33 radio stations in ten countries and content production throughout the world.  Its television portfolio includes RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, five in the UK, and the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia and Hungary, as well as Antena 3 in Spain and TVI in Portugal. RTL Group’s flagship radio station is RTL in France, and it also owns or has interests in other stations in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg. RTL Group's content production arm, FremantleMedia is one of the largest international producers outside the US. It is currently producing more than 260 programmes in over 40 countries including the USA, providing a wide range of drama, entertainment and factual programming for viewers around the world.

About REN TV

The REN TV production company has been producing shows for the Russian channels since 1991.  On the back of the successes enjoyed by the production company, REN TV was launched with broadcasting activities beginning on 1 January 1997. Today, REN TV is the one of Russia’s leading private broadcasters. The Moscow based television network reaches 97 million citizens with a technical coverage of approximately 87 per cent. REN TV operates through a broadcast network holding licences in Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, and Volgograd and through subsidiaries in Ekaterinburg, Voronezh, Bryansk and Rostov-on-Don and has more than 180 broadcasting agreements with local operators.  The REN TV signal is received in all 18 Russian cities with more than 1 million inhabitants and in all 29 cities included in the TNS Gallup peoplemeter panel.

REN TV’s program grid includes news, documentaries, entertainment, music and sports programs as well as popular foreign series and movies.