Turkcell has appointed Kaan Terzioglu as its new CEO as it holds its first AGM since 2010, averting the possibility of the country’s capital markets board stepping in and taking decisions in place of shareholders.
Terzioglu, a director at Akbank…
Turkcell has appointed Kaan Terzioglu as its new CEO as it holds its first AGM since 2010, averting the possibility of the country’s capital markets board stepping in and taking decisions in place of shareholders.
Terzioglu, a director at Akbank since 2012, will take the helm of the company on 1 April, the Istanbul-based operator said in a statement. He replaces Ilker Kuruoz, who has served as acting CEO since Sureyya Ciliv resigned in January after eight years with the mobile operator.
Terzioglu began his career as an auditor and accountant at Arthur Anderson Turkey and later worked in the firm’s US and Brussels businesses. In 1998, he became VP of consultancy services for the Turkish operations. Between 1999 and 2012, he held various senior management roles with Cisco.
At an AGM today, Turkcell’s three controlling shareholders, who have been embroiled in nearly decade-long ownership dispute, agreed to propose a dividend payout of TRY3.93bn (US$1.5bn). This would mark the operator’s first dividend payout since 2010, when dividends for 2009 were distributed. The proposed payout equates to about 42.5% of net profits accumulated between 2010 and 2014, Swedish telco TeliaSonera, which has a 38% direct and indirect holding in Turkcell, said in a statement.
The three shareholders – which also include Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group and Turkish businessman Mehmet Emin Karamehmet’s Cukurova Telecom Holding – indirectly own Turkcell Holdings, which has a 51% stake in Turkcell. As such, they expect the proposal to be approved at today’s meeting.
The Turkish capital markets board had given Turkcell shareholders until 31 March to end the stalemate or face a forced dividend payout.
In its own statement, Alfa described the dividend agreement as a small, positive step, but said it does not resolve shareholders’ ownership issues.
Last week, Alfa offered US$2.8bn for a 13.76% stake in Turkell currently held by the state-owned Ziraat Bank as collateral for extending a loan to Cukurova. However, analysts consider the bid unlikely to succeed, saying there is little appetite to see the mobile operator pass into foreign hands.
Meanwhile, Turkcell, which is listed on the New York and Istanbul stock exchanges, disclosed in a regulatory filing that TeliaSonera has transferred its stake in Turkcell Holding to a Finnish affiliate.
