Displaying items by tag: Turk Telecom

Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications incumbent Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire a 55% stake in Turk Telecom - in a deal reportedly worth around $3.9 billion. Oger Telecom is the majority shareholder in Turk Telecom, but it is currently in dire straits financially - and is willingly to sell off its stake in the Turkish operator.

Sources close to both STC and Oger Telecom have claimed negotiations between the two organizations is on-going, but noted that Turkey’s government may be forced to step in if a deal between both parties is not agreed. Turk Telecom was formerly state-owned before it was privatized in 2005.

It has been reported that creditors are increasing their pressure on Oger Telecom to sell in an effort to stem its financial crisis, which has resulted in the company missing two instalments in the repayment of a $4.75 billion loan it secured in when refinancing its existing debt.

In January, it emerged that STC was mulling offer a potential move to take a direct stake in Oger Telecom who had blamed their disastrous financial performance on the strength of the Turksih Lira, which lowered dividends the company received from its stake in the Turkish telecommunications firm.

While it has been suggested there are a string of companies interested in the 55% stake, only STC entered into negotiations with a’ clear interest’ in making the acquisition. Industry commentators have suggested that if a deal between STC and Oger Telecom can’t be finalized then Turkey’s government may use a public institution to acquire the stake. 

A source close to the Turkish government stressed the importance of Turk Telecom as a company and declared that a public institution would come to the rescue if needed, the source said, “Turk Telekom is a strategic and important company. It will not be left to its fate for sure. Public institutions would intervene when needed and this option is still a matter of consideration.”

When contacted both STC and Oger Telecom declined to comment on the speculation regarding the alleged negotiations. Oger’s parent company is owned by Saudi Arabian construction colossus Saudi Oger, which also is facing a multibillion-dollar debt restructuring. Oger Telecom’s creditors have expressed that they would like to see the deal completed by September.

Turkey’s treasury sent a direct letter to Oger earlier this year after it failed to meet the two debt payments. In July the government asked some banks to find prospective buyers for the stake.

Newly appointed Chairman of the Turk Telecom International (TTI) Group Management Board, Mehmet Toros, has underlined that the organization's main focus is to generate new sales and enhance business cooperation on the newly launched matchless PoP 'SEA-ME-WE-5' underwater cable system.

Turk Telecom International is a leading telecommunications firm in the Middle East, Asia, Turkey, CIS and Eastern Europe. It provides a full range of infrastructure, connectivity, internet and wholesale voice services to incumbents, alternative carriers, mobile operators, internet service providers, content providers and corporate customers.

In an interview, Mr. Toros spoke about the ambitious 'SEA-ME-WE-5' project which brings together 19 operators in 18 countries connecting three continents. It is a global milestone in the telecommunications industry which will open up new opportunities for greater trade and economic growth; plus strengthen ties among multiple countries and people of various cultures. With its state of the art technology, SEA-ME-WE-5 presents matchless communication quality along its route from Asia to Western Europe.

Can you outline the current company structure in relations to mergers, and take us through the process over the last twelve months?

Turk Telecom International is the international arm of the Turk Telecom parent company (which is the incumbent operator in Turkey) and it also has mobile, broadband departments and broadband infrastructure. However, Turk Telecom International is involved mainly in wholesale voice and data business internationally on behalf of Turk Telecom.

One of the main offices in Turk Telecom International is based in Budapest, but we have technical teams and our state-of-the art NOC center in Austria and our management offices are located in Istanbul. Last year, there were some changes at management level, not only in Turk Telecom International, but also in Turk Telecom parent company. The group CEO and the VPs have been changed in Turk Telecom, and I have been appointed as the Chairman of the Management Board of Turk Telecom International Group.

We have also replaced the CTO and CBSO have changed our organizational structure - we merged our chief marketing and chief sales officer under the title of chief commercial officer. In addition, we have appointed a Managing Director at Turk Telecom International to be responsible for mainly technical and operational issues which may arise within the organization. Turk Telecom International has entities and representatives in sixteen different countries.

What can you tell us about your footprint in the markets - let's start with the Middle East and Africa, and then let's examine your presence in the Asian market?

The Middle East is one of the most important markets for Turk Telecom International - we have initiatives and joint-operations with consultants in the Middle East. The biggest project we launched as part of the SEA-ME-5 Consortium was the unique and matchless SEA-ME-WE-5 subsea cable system. Turk Telecom International started to investigate long submarine cables, and we subsequently decided to join the SEA-ME-WE-5 consortium.

The SEA-ME-WE-5 submarine cables systems were deployed in December 2016 - and I'd like to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the marketing communication department at Turk Telecom International, because Turk Telecom International has recently been awarded to manage all marketing communications related tasks of the SEA-ME-WE-5 consortium.

In February, TTI hosted very successfully the SEA-ME-WE-5 Project Launch Celebration Event in Istanbul. With the completion of this advanced and innovative project, Turkey now has adequate infrastructure to meet the country's rising data demand at an initial capacity of 24 Tbps.

We made an investment of around $50m in the SEA-ME-WE-5 subsea cable systems and we have other initiatives in and around the Middle East. In relation to Africa we are focusing on Eastern Africa. In Asia, southern Asia we're going to reach throughout the SEA-ME-WE-5 underwater cable system and capacities.