Business Wire and Interfax Enter into a Strategic Agreement That Enables Russian Companies to Target Global Capital and Consumer Markets, and to Satisfy Disclosure in Key Financial Centers.

MOSCOW & NEW YORK -- Business Wire and Interfax Information Services Group, the leading source of real-time business news from Russia and the CIS, have entered into an agreement that provides Russian companies with more direct access to global financial and consumer markets, and the ability to satisfy regulatory disclosure requirements in select international financial centers, it was jointly announced today by the chief executives of both organizations.

The commercial linkup provides a seamless pathway for Russian-listed companies to fulfill local disclosure-- where Interfax has been an authorized agent of the Federal Financial Markets Service since 2003-- while broadly distributing market-moving news to international investors, simultaneously and in real-time, via Business Wire's regulatory disclosure networks. The expanded service options were introduced today at a disclosure symposium co-sponsored with the MICEX exchange.

Some 8,000 Russian issuers currently use Interfax's disclosure distribution resources (www.e-disclosure.ru). Interfax also operates a freely accessible system of publishing quarterly reports, and maintains SPARK, Russia's largest corporate database with entries on more than four million Russian companies.

"Russian companies are increasingly active in placing shares and other financial instruments abroad," said Interfax Group Chairman Mikhail Komissar. "Many of them are planning to enter the listing of leading exchanges in Great Britain and the United States and are therefore interested in attracting the attention of the international investment community. However, the requirements of market regulators differ from country to country, which creates practical problems for companies. This often results in Russian investors receiving the reports and financial statements of companies with a delay or in a reduced format."

According to Komissar, Interfax's expanded relationship with Business Wire will lead to an improved flow of financial information to global investors.

"We would want to create conditions in which companies could duly disclose all vital market information simultaneously in Russia and abroad without additional trouble and without any damage to any investor group," Komissar added.

"Business Wire has a long and accomplished history of helping public companies reach out to the capital markets," said Cathy Baron Tamraz, Business Wire's president and chief executive officer. "We are extremely proud to be associated with Interfax, the leading financial news service in Russia, a country that is ranked with China, India and Brazil as one of the world's fastest growing economies. Our agreement with Interfax, coupled with the phased-in launch of our EU disclosure network that will officially debut in January 2007, positions Business Wire for strong future growth as Europe embraces greater corporate transparency."

Business Wire offers a full-range of IR and disclosure services, including interactive data documents and XBRL consulting services (via CoreFiling, its joint venture with UK-based DecisionSoft), EDGAR filings (Business Wire is the world's fourth largest 8-K filer to the SEC EDGAR database), and BW Investor Targeting (utilizing data from Bigdough, the premier capital markets database).

Interfax has partnered with several financial information industry leaders, including Moody's Investors Service (Moody's Interfax), Thomson Financial, and Experian.

About Business Wire:

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, was founded in 1961 by chairman Lorry I. Lokey, veteran journalist and public relations executive.

The company's multi-channel delivery network, with access to some 60 international and national news agencies, financial information providers and Web-based news services throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, provides real-time, simultaneous access to key audiences -- the news media, trade publications, institutional and individual investors, business-to-business decision-makers and consumers.

Business Wire electronically disseminates some 1,000 full-text news releases daily to the media, the Internet, online services and databases, and the global investment community in 150 countries in 45 languages. Business Wire has 24 U.S. offices, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Tokyo and Sydney offices, and reciprocal offices throughout the world.

About Interfax Information Services Group:

The Interfax Information Services Group provides news and other information products that are essential for decision-makers in politics and business. Set up in 1989, Interfax Group brings together a network of national, regional and specialized news agencies operating throughout Russian and other CIS countries, as well as in China and Central Europe. The Group includes companies and divisions that provide news, analytical services, market data, fundamental information and develop software solutions. Since early 1990s, Interfax has been the leading provider of up-to-date news from Russian and the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is the most frequently quoted source of information on the region. In the past several years, Interfax also won a reputation as the leading provider of political and financial news from emerging markets in Europe and China.