UPDATE 1-Sistema may redeem $2 bln loan by year end
* Subject to refineries' sales to Bashneft
* Sale could fetch $1.4 billion
(Adds details, background)
MOSCOW, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Russian holding company Sistema (SSAq.L) may redeem a $2 billion VTB (VTBR.MM) loan by the end of 2009, subject to the successful sale of oil refineries to Bashneft (BANE.RTS), its chief executive said on Tuesday.
"If we have time (to sell the Ufa refineries, we will repay the loan) before the end of the year," Leonid Melamed told reporters.
Sistema, whose main asset is Russia's top mobile operator MTS (MBT.N), in March paid $2.5 billion for bought control of Bashneft and five other energy firms in which it already owned blocking stakes of up to 30 percent.
The acquisition was almost entirely financed by a $2 billion, seven-year loan from Russia's second-biggest bank, state-controlled VTB. [ID:nLU356406]
Sistema said this month it planned to sell its controlling stakes in the five Bashkir assets to Bashneft to "build up a vertically integrated oil company". Bashneft announced plans to issue 50 billion roubles ($1.7 billion) of bonds to finance the deal.
Melamed said four Ufa, Russia-based refineries -- Novoil (NUNZI.RTS), Ufimsky (UNPZI.RTS), Ufaneftekhim (UFNC.RTS), Ufaorgsintez (UFOS.RTS) -- and retailer Bashkirnefteproduct (BANPI.RTS) -- are worth an estimated 41 billion roubles. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=29.35 Rouble)
