Turkey’s Cukurova Group will have to wait a little longer before it regains control of Turkcell.
This follows a decision by the Judicial Committee of the UK Privy Council, which yesterday (February 5) concluded a hearing into the dispute between Cukurova and Russia’s Alfa Group.
The hearing was held on July 23 and ended in a judgment on July 29 last year, with the UK Privy Council giving Cukurova more than the original 60 days to pay Russia’s Alfa Group $1.56 billion (€1.18 billion) for a 13.8% stake in Turkcell, Turkey’s leading mobile company.
The Council also suspended an interest of 8% interest over the Libor rate on the stake and said the parties could apply for a cut-off date for the payment anytime after December 1, 2013.
Now, it has decided that the current suspension of the payment deadline should be continued until such time as the New York Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reaches its decision on the case before it.
It continues: “The Board will order that the deadline for payment by Cukurova will be 60 days following any discharge of the injunction ordered by the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (or 60 days following any dissolution of such, by the agreement of the parties). Interest will run from 19 days of the relevant date.
Either party has liberty to apply for permission to vary the Board’s order”.
Besides being Turkey’s leading mobile operator, Turkcell also has a presence in the country’s TV industry.
