Turkey’s Cukurova Holding is reportedly seeking a loan of up to US$2bn to take back the 13.8% stake in Turkcell appropriated by Russian co-investor Altimo.
Cukurova put the stake up as collateral for a US$1.35bn loan which it defaulted on in 2007,…
Turkey’s Cukurova Holding is reportedly seeking a loan of up to US$2bn to take back the 13.8% stake in Turkcell appropriated by Russian co-investor Altimo.
Cukurova put the stake up as collateral for a US$1.35bn loan which it defaulted on in 2007, prompting Altimo, part of businessman Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, to seize it.
The case was referred to the UK’s Privy Council as an involved Cukurova subsidiary was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and, last week, the judicial committee ruled Altimo was entitled to appropriate the stake following the default.
However, the committee has yet to set out the terms under which Cukurova, controlled by Turkish businessman Mehmet Karamehmet, can recover the stake.
Reuters cited unidentified sources familiar with the matter as saying Cukurova is determined to take back the stake but disagrees with Altimo on the amount of interest it should pay on the original loan.
While Cukurova believes interest should be calculated using global borrowing rates, bringing the required repayment to about US$1.8-US$1.9bn, Altimo argues default rates should be employed, bringing the total amount to about US$2.5bn, the report stated.
The Privy Council is set to determine how much Cukurova needs to pay, in terms of interest and costs, in the coming weeks and months.
Turkcell’s major shareholders, which also include Swedish telco TeliaSonera, have disputed the Turkish mobile operator’s ownership and governance for almost six years.
Commenting on last week’s Privy Council decision, TeliaSonera described it as a step towards clarifying the ownership of the stake.
