Turkcell’s next annual general meeting, set to take place on Friday (29 June), will most likely be postponed as the company’s major shareholders continue to dispute major ownership and governance issues.
Shareholders Altimo, the telecoms unit of…
Turkcell’s next annual general meeting, set to take place on Friday (29 June), will most likely be postponed as the company’s major shareholders continue to dispute major ownership and governance issues.
Shareholders Altimo, the telecoms unit of Russian investment firm Alfa Group, and Cukurova Telecom Holding, owned by Turkcell co-founder Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, have failed to reach an agreement on “fundamental issues”, including who should represent Turkcell Holding at the AGM, Altimo vice president Mustafa Kiral told reporters today.
Altimo and Cukurova also disagree on the company’s board structure, independent board members and dividend payment, he added.
Last week, Turkey’s Capital Markets Authority of Turkey (CMA) rebuked Turkcell over its list of independent board members, directing the company to immediately supply a new list that complies with Capital Markets Board (CMB) requirements.
Norway’s Telenor, also a major shareholder, issued a statement today saying the disagreements mean the AGM will have to be postponed.
Telenor said it had hoped for a “productive” AGM which would have enabled it to announce distributions of the much-delayed 2010 and 2011 dividends and make decisions that enabled it to meet CMB requirements.
“We regret that we cannot move forward as planned on Friday, but we understand CMB’s position and will do our utmost to find a constructive way forward to uphold good governance in Turkcell …” the Norwegian telco said.
On 1 June, Turkcell issued a statement saying its statutory auditors had called an annual general assembly for the company on 29 June “on the basis that the board of directors has not timely and properly carried out the required procedures for the implementation of Corporate Governance Principles issued by the Capital Markets Board (CMB) and could not adopt a resolution at the annual general assembly”.
The CMB recently raised the number of independent members large companies must have from two to three.
Turkcell’s ownership structure is complex: Cukurova Telecom Holdings owns 53% of Turkcell Holding which, in turn, owns 51% of Turkcell Iletisim (the mobile operator). TeliaSonera owns the remaining stake in Turkcell Iletisim. Meanwhile, Alfa owns 49% of Cukurova Telecom Holdings and Cukurova Holding controls 51%.
