Vodafone announces that it has agreed to acquire Telsim, the number two mobile operator in Turkey, from the Turkish Savings Deposit and
Investment Fund ("SDIF") for a consideration of USD 4.55 billion.
Commenting on the transaction, Arun Sarin, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said: "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%, 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."
Principal benefits
The acquisition of Telsim represents a unique opportunity to gain control of a mobile business in one of the European region's biggest
markets and is consistent with Vodafone's strategy of increasing its exposure to growth markets.
The principal benefits to Vodafone are:
Exposure to the attractive and growing Turkish market
- Population of 72 million people - the fourth largest market in which Vodafone controls an operator
- Market penetration of approximately 53% with significant further growth potential
- Fast growing and young population, forecast to grow at 1.4% CAGR until 2010 and with approximately 47% under the age of 25
- Population expected to be greater than Germany's by 2017
Full control of a fast growing number two mobile operator
- 43% revenue growth in the first 7 months of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004
- Customer growth of 53% and 2.8 million net additional customers in the 12 months to 30 June 2005
- Approximately 9 million customers
Uniquely positioned to capture the benefits of a turnaround of Telsim
- The business has historically been under-managed and suffered from under-investment in its network and customer propositions
- Vodafone to leverage its position in GSM networks, branding and successful customer propositions to turnaround the business
- Turkey's proximity to other Vodafone operations enables meaningful One Vodafone programme benefits including roaming opportunities from Turkish communities present in other Vodafone markets in Europe
- Attractive corporate market opportunity
Transaction overview
Vodafone has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets and business of Telsim from the SDIF. Vodafone is not acquiring Telsim's
liabilities, including those related to Motorola and Nokia, other than certain minor employee-related liabilities.
In addition to the consideration price, Vodafone will be required to pay USD 0.4 billion of VAT which will be recoverable against Telsim's
future VAT liabilities. Vodafone expects to recover this payment over the short to medium term and this has been included in Vodafone's
valuation of Telsim. The transaction is subject to approval from the SDIF Board and Turkish regulatory, legal and competition authorities. Vodafone expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of calendar year 2006.
Investing to capture future growth
Vodafone intends to make a significant investment in the operations and network of Telsim to deliver a superior product and service offering to the Turkish market. Vodafone expects that over the short term Telsim will require approximately USD 1 billion of additional funding.
The acquisition is expected to enhance Vodafone's revenue and EBITDA growth profile, however Vodafone expects Telsim to make net losses in the short to medium term as it invests in the network, building scale and a stronger customer and brand proposition. Consequently Vodafone expects the transaction to be dilutive to adjusted earnings per share in the short to medium term.
The transaction is not expected to impact Vodafone's share purchase programme and is not expected to impact Vodafone's credit ratings.
