We assisted Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF) in obtaining approval from the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus for the acquisition of control over Belarusian Telecommunications Network CJSC (BeST), one of three Belarusian mobile network operators and a member of Turkcell group. Approval was requested in the context of the acquisition by TWF of 26.2% of the shares in the parent company of Turkcell group ‒ Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri AŞ – via a series of agreements with parties including Telia, a multinational telecoms provider of Swedish origin, LetterOne, an international investment business, and Çukurova Holding, a Turkish industrial and commercial conglomerate.
As noted by Zafer Sönmez, TWF CEO and Board Member: “The shareholder transactions are progressing as planned and I am pleased all necessary regulatory clearances have been obtained. The transactions will provide a stable value creation base for the shareholders of Turkcell and help it achieve best-in-class corporate governance standards, confining the well trailed shareholder quarrels to the past and providing a simpler and more transparent structure which is in the best interests of all stakeholders. We believe we will provide a high level of added value to Turkcell in the new era.”
TWF, established in August 2016, provides equity to strategic investments in Turkey and has a portfolio of 20 companies from 8 different sectors, 2 licences and real estate.
BeST is the third biggest mobile network operator in Belarus with more than 1 million clients. It operates under the “life:)” brand implemented by the company after the acquisition of an 80% stake by Turkcell in 2008. The remaining 20% is held by the Belarusian Government.
Our team comprising partner Alexey Anischenko with senior associate Viktoryia Mikhnevich and associate Aliaksei Vashkevich advised TWF on all aspects of the Belarusian antimonopoly approval process.
