China’s ZTE buys stake in Turkey’s Netaş for $101 mln in drive to expand overseas

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Chinese telecom and mobile equipment group ZTE Corp. has agreed to buy 48.04 percent of Turkish systems integration provider Netaş Telekomunikasyon A.Ş. (NETAŞ) for 358 million Turkish Liras ($101.3 million) in order to expand in Turkey and the region, Netaş announced Dec. 6.The deal is subject to approval by the Turkish Competition Authority. When the transaction is finalized, the Chinese telecom giant will become the largest shareholder of Netaş.The Turkish Armed Forces Foundation holds a 15 percent share in Netaş, while the rest is publicly listed.“This transaction will equip Netaş with additional technologies to provide more services and solutions to its customers and to expand its geographic reach,” Netaş said in a statement.“As Turkey’s number one systems integrator, Netaş develops software solutions for more than 160 global operators and has been named Turkey’s ‘Top Software Exporter’ by ICT 500 Turkey Research five times,” Netaş CEO Müjdat Altay said.Netaş has been a major architect of Turkey’s digital future, Altay said, adding that the company would work with ZTE to further address the global marketplace.“We will engage in an exchange of know-how with ZTE, particularly in the areas of R&D [research and development] and innovation. We also believe this transaction highlights Turkey’s attractiveness as an environment for foreign investors,” he said.“With Netaş’ strong project delivery capabilities, ZTE will further enhance its service capabilities to customers in Turkey as well as several key overseas markets,” said Zhao Xianming, chairman and chief executive of ZTE Corporation.“Repair and return center, customer support center and training center functionalities at Netaş will help ZTE elevate service levels, especially response time, in each respective region,” Zhao added.