Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF) is seeking a loan for the purchase of Türk Telekom shares and has approached banks holding a majority stake in the country’s telecom giant to finance a planned buyout of the firm, according to a Bloomberg report Friday.
The fund is in preliminary talks with the private lenders, the report said who cited people with knowledge on the issue asking not to be identified as the talks are private.
Those private banks jointly hold a 55% stake in telecommunication firm with the majority of the stake is owned by Akbank, Garanti and Iş bank.
The stake could be worth around $1.4 billion based on its current market price, according to the report.
The TWF has confirmed in a statement to Bloomberg that the negotiations with the banks are ongoing, but has provided no further details.
LYY Telekomunikasyon Inc., which represents the banks, declined to comment.
The fund would have to agree with LYY on Türk Telekom’s value, the loan size and repayment conditions, the people cited by the report has said who noted the talks began last month and a deal is possible during the second half of 2022.
The Treasury and Finance Ministry also owns 25% of Türk Telekom, including a so-called golden share that gives it management control. The wealth fund currently holds 6.7% of the shares and the remainder is publicly traded on the country’s stock exchange, Borsa Istanbul.
