Turkcell Holds First Shareholder Meeting Since 2011, Approves Dividend

By Yeliz Candemir 

ISTANBUL-- Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS on Thursday held its first shareholder meeting since 2011, with an imminent threat of regulatory takeover forcing major stakeholders to cooperate even as they continue to fight to control Turkey's biggest mobile-phone operator.

In a statement, Turkcell said it approved the dividend policy and the distribution of retroactive dividends for fiscal years 2010 through 2014. "The distribution [of dividend] to shareholders [is] by latest April 6, 2015," the company said.

The general assembly gathering in Istanbul not only marks a step toward normalization of long-strained ties among three major shareholders, but also provides investors with a 3.9 billion lira ($1.5 billion) dividend, the first payout since 2011 and equivalent to 42.5% of Turkcell profits between 2010 and 2014.

After nearly a decade of legal battles and boardroom maneuvers that crippled decision-making at Turkcell, Cukurova Holding AS of Turkey, Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group and Sweden's TeliaSonera AB struck a rare compromise, providing a boon to investors but doing little to end their ownership struggle. If they had failed to convene the general assembly by Tuesday, Turkish regulators at the Capital Markets Board would have been able to seize power in the name of all shareholders, with the majority owners effectively relinquishing their authority and ability to set the dividend.

Write to Yeliz Candemir at [e-mail]

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