No decision yet on Yapı Kredi shares, says Koç Holding

ISTANBUL

Koç Holding said on Nov. 25 in a filing with Borsa Istanbul that its board has not yet decided on the shareholder structure of Yapı ve Kredi Bankası (YKB).

In the statement issued to the stock exchange Koç Holding noted that there have been news on the media regarding “the purchase of all shares of our joint venture Koç Finansal Hizmetler (KFS) from our joint venture partner UniCredit and termination of our joint venture, resulting in Koç Holding to have majority stake of Yapı Kredi.”

“We evaluate shareholder structures of our portfolio companies and engage in discussions with relevant parties as necessary at all times... In this context, despite the ongoing negotiations with UniCredit on the reorganization of the shareholder structures of KFS and YKB in such a manner to ensure that the parties shall not reach direct or indirect majority of YKB, there have not been any board of directors decision taken on the subject yet,” the statement added.

UniCredit had struck a deal to reduce its exposure to Turkey’s third biggest bank, Reuters reported on Nov. 22, citing sources.

As part of the plan, UniCredit would sell its 50 percent stake in KFS to its partner Koç Holding, two sources had said.

UniCredit bought a stake in Yapı Kredi in 2005.

Yapı Kredi’s main shareholder is KFS with an 81.9 percent ownership. KFS is a 50-50 joint venture between Koç Group and UniCredit Group. The remaining 18.1 percent is traded on Borsa Istanbul.

The lender posted a net income of 976 million Turkish Liras (around $170 million) in the third quarter of 2019, while its nine-month profit amounted to 3.3 billion liras, pointing to a 10.9 percent increase on an annual basis.