Deputy ministers appointed to Türk Telekom board after two members resign

ISTANBUL

Two Turkish deputy transport and transport ministers have been appointed to the Türk Telekom board of directors after two members of the company resigned. 

Suat Hayri Aka, member of the board of directors representing the C group privileged shares in the company, and Fahri Kasırga, the independent board member and vice chair of the board of directors have resigned, said Türk Telekom in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) late on Sept. 4.

Ömer Fatih Sayan has been appointed to the board membership position, which became vacant due to Aka’s resignation, pursuant to Article 363 of the Turkish Commercial Code, for the remaining office term of the board of directors. He was elected as vice chairman of the board of directors, read the statement, adding that the appointment should be presented to the approval of the general assembly of the company at the first general assembly meeting held.

Subject to the approval of the Capital Markets Board, Selim Dursun has been appointed as the independent board member to the membership position, which became vacant due to Kasırga’s resignation, pursuant to Article 363 of the Turkish Commercial Code, for the remaining office term of the board of directors, according to the statement.

Sayan, who was the former chair of the Information and Communications Technologies Authority (BTK), has been assigned as the deputy minister of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry on July 21, 2018.

Dursun has also been working as the deputy minister of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry of Turkey since July 2018.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry has given the final approval paving the way for the transfer of a majority stake of Türk Telekom to a joint venture of creditor banks.

The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry notified the company owned by Saudi Oger of the Lebanese Hariri family.

“The takeover of Ojer Telekomünikasyon A.Ş.’s [OTAŞ] 55 percent shares in our company, Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. [Türk Telekom] by a special purpose vehicle [SPV] which the creditor banks of OTAŞ would be shareholders, has been approved by the Treasury and Finance Ministry,” the company said in its statement to KAP on Aug. 29.

The Information Technologies and Communications Authority had approved the share transfer on Aug. 17.

OTAŞ had put up 55 percent of Türk Telekom shares as collateral for a loan of $4.75 billion in 2013.

After two years of negotiations regarding the failed repayments, creditor banks, including Akbank, Garanti and İşbank, applied to the Competition Board to take over the shares in July.