The Turkey Wealth Fund has acquired 55% of shares in Turk Telecom from LYY Telekomunikasyon (LYY), a consortium of banks, for US$1.65 billion.
The fund has been in negotiations with Turk Telecom’s majority shareholder LYY since December 2021, reported Reuters.
The transaction needs approval from regulators before being finalised said the sovereign wealth fund in a statement.
"As (Turkey's Wealth Fund), we believe that we will add extra value to the telecommunication sector by contributing in the digitalisation process, while focusing on efforts to further strengthen the technological infrastructure of our country," said Turkey Wealth Fund CEO Salim Arda Ermut.
The fund has been mulling the acquisition since October 2021. In 2018, the 55% share Turk Telecom was bought by LYY from former owner Ojer Telekom (Otas) after being given approval from the country’s communications regulator.
Otas had to surrender its shares as it failed to keep up with debt repayments on a US$4.75 billion loan to acquire the operator.
