Doğan Holding completes key merger

ISTANBUL

Doğan Şirketler Grubu Holding, the Turkish group with investments in the media, energy, retail, industrial, real estate marketing, tourism and financial services sectors, has taken over all of Doğan Yayın Holding shares, with Doğan Şirketler Grubu Chairperson Begüm Faralyalı saying the merger will lead to a “more simple management.”

The merger unites all of Doğan core fields of activities, including investments in the media, energy, retail, industrial, real estate marketing, tourism and financial services sectors, under one holding company.

 “It has been decided that our subsidiary Doğan Yayın Holding A.Ş. should be merged under the umbrella of our company, through all its assets and liabilities being ‘taken over’ as a whole by our company,” the parent company said in a written statement.

The exchange of Doğan Yayın Holding shares with Doğan Holding shares began on Sept. 1.

As part of the issuance document approved by the Capital Markets Board, the issued capital volume of Doğan increased to more than 2.6 billion Turkish Liras with the merger.

Doğan Yayın Holding, which had owned the Hürriyet Daily News along with Hürriyet, the leading Turkish daily newspaper, and several other publications, traded on the Borsa Istanbul for the last time on Sept. 1.

The merger will help the group focus more, supporting its growth, Faralyalı also said in the statement.
“With this merger, we have strengthened the corporate capabilities of our group companies, along with our financial structure,” she said.

“Thanks to the contribution of our understanding of corporate governance and expertize, we will also continue to create value for our country with a steady and sustainable growth in our activity fields,” she added.

Executive Director Yahya Üzdiyen said the merger had created the largest operation in terms of equity capital among publicly traded companies, and adding that shareholders’ use of “right to exit” was implemented extremely transparently throughout the process.

“I am glad to note that the merger was completed with no problems for either Doğan Şirketler Grubu Holding or Doğan Yayın Holding shareholders,” Üzdiyen said, adding that he believed the “synergy” created by the merger would carry the company to greater success.