Türk Telekom eyes new acquisitions

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Türk Telekom CEO Tahsin Yılmaz. AA photo

Türk Telekom is looking to grow via acquisitions in the region, company CEO Tahsin Yılmaz said late Sept. 12. 

“Our company serves as a sort of telecommunications and data bridge of the region. We continue to watch for opportunities to make ideal acquisitions in the region to grow inorganically,” he said. 

The company made a non-binding $530 million offer to acquire a 53 percent stake in local digital pay-TV operator Digiturk in July, but the owner, the Çukurova Group, declared Türk Telekom’s offer too low. 

Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) seized control of Digiturk in May and dozens of other companies belonging to Çukurova, a troubled conglomerate, due to losses at a bank it owns.

Türk Telekom has recently focused on developing fiber technologies across Turkey. The company invested 2.4 million Turkish Liras in 2012, and plans to close this year with 2.2 million liras of investment. 

“We had built 171,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables by the end of first quarter of this year, enabling 2.2 million households to have fiber Internet. Our subscribers of fiber Internet increased by 31 percent in the second quarter,” he said. 

Some 46.5 percent of households in Turkey had access to broadband Internet, more than the global average of around 40 percent.