Vodafone Completes Telsim Acquisition in Turkey

By Johanne Torres

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Mobile telecom Vodafone Group announced this week that it completed the acquisition of the assets of Turkish mobile operator Telsim from the Turkish Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund. Vodafone had announced its plans to acquire the company back in December 13, 2005 for a reported USD 4.55 billion.

 

"We are delighted to have won the tender for Telsim. With a larger population than every European country except Germany, and a penetration level of approximately 53 percent, the Turkish market represents a major growth opportunity. Our extensive operating experience and unique set of products and services positions us to compete effectively in such a youthful market and deliver a superior mobile experience to Turkish customers," said Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone, in a statement about the planned transaction back in December.

 

Vodafone planned to acquire all of the assets and business of Telsim from the SDIF, however, the company didn't plan to acquire Telsim's liabilities, including those related to Motorola (News - Alert) and Nokia (News - Alert), other than certain minor employee-related liabilities.

 

In addition to the consideration price, Vodafone was to pay USD 0.4 billion of VAT which would be recoverable against Telsim's future VAT liabilities. According to Vodafone's news release, the company expected to recover this payment over the short to medium term and this has been included in its valuation of Telsim.

 

Vodafone Group

Telsim

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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and Internet Telephony magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit Johanne Torres' columnist page.