Aselsan denies claims of share sale

ANKARA / KOCAELİ

Aselsan has denied claims that the shares of the company, majority owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, would be sold to foreign investors.

The company reserves its legal rights against those false claims and media reports based on those claims, a company statement read late on Dec. 7.

İsmail Demir, the head of Turkey’s Defense Industries Presidency, said yesterday that those claims are “part of a disinformation.”

A quarter of Aselsan’s shares are listed on Borsa Istanbul, he told reporters at Santek Digital Fair held in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.

“Any speculation about this company could cause serious consequences. Actually, Aselsan has to notify the Public Disclosure Platform about any moves legally,” said Demir.

Turkish companies can establish subsidiaries and partnerships in foreign countries in the areas of defense and technology, he also said, underlying that the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation is also the majority owner of Havelsan and Roketsan.

In recent media reports, it was claimed that investors from the United Arab Emirates were interested in buying stocks of Turkish defense companies, including Aselsan.

Aselsan’s turnover in the first six months of the year increased by 33 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 7 billion Turkish Liras ($809.5 million), according to a company statement.

Turkey’s top defense company posted net profit growth of 37 percent year on year to reach 2.5 billion liras ($289.1 million).

The company’s equity to assets ratio was 57 percent, while the total backlog was $9.2 billion in the same period.
Aselsan has placed 48th in Defense News Top 100 list for 2020 with $2.2 billion in revenues. The prestigious American magazine compiles the list in accordance with companies’ annual defense revenues.