Koc Holding releases grip on telecoms unit

According to Bloomberg, Vodafone Turkey has agreed terms with the Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding to acquire alternative fixed line provider Koc.net, in a deal worth GBP11 million (USD18 million). If approved by the Turkish Competition Board, the move will enable Vodafone Turkey to enter the residential ADSL market for the first time and simultaneously expand the reach of its enterprise division, which saw growth of 36% in the financial quarter ending 30 June 2011. Although Koc Holding does not provide details of Koc.net’s financial results in its annual reports, consultancy firm Deloitte has previously indicated that Koc.net had sales of around EUR69 million (USD100 million) in 2009. The Koc.net transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011.

TeleGeography notes that the acquisition of Koc.net is not Vodafone’s first foray into the fixed line sector. In April 2010 Turkey’s Competition Board approved the sale of corporate telco Borusan Telekom to Vodafone Turkey; the acquisition was designed to give Vodafone access to Borusan’s fibre-optic network, increasing the speed and quality of connections between its mobile base stations and lessening the company’s dependence on Turk Telekom’s network.