By Yeliz Candemir
ISTANBUL--Turkey's Cukurova Holding AS and Russia's Alfa Group
have reached agreement on the terms necessary to make the financing
available for Cukurova to reclaim a controlling stake in Turkcell
Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (TKC), the biggest Turkish mobile-phone
operator, a U.K. court said Friday.
Turkcell's major shareholders--Turkish billionaire Mehmet Emin
Karamehmet's Cukurova, Sweden's TeliaSonera AB and Russia's Alfa
Group--have been fighting to control the mobile-phone operator for
seven years, delaying board appointments and halting dividend
payments. Cukurova has until July 30 to pay $1.6 billion to Alfa to
reclaim a 13.8% stake in a holding company that would reaffirm its
control of Turkcell.
"The parties' agreement was approved by the Board on 24 July and
the hearing which was scheduled for 30 July will now not take
place," the U.K. Privy Council, an appeals court based in London,
said in an e-mailed statement.
After the announcement, Turkcell shares closed 4.2% higher at
TRY13.65 ($6.52), as Turkey's benchmark BIST-100 stock index rose
0.5% for the day.
Write to Yeliz Candemir at yeliz.candemir@wsj.com
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