ZTE Corp. (0763.HK/000063.SZ) says it has agreed to acquire a 48% stake in Turkish ICT service provider Netaş Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. from OEP Turkey Tech B.V., a portfolio company managed by One Equity Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ZTE believes the ownership stake will improve its ability to address the ICT market in Turkey and Eurasia.
Netaş was founded in 1967 and is traded on Borsa Istanbul (NETAS.IS). One Equity Partners, through its holding company OEP Turkey Tech B.V., acquired its stake in Netaş from Nortel in 2010. The company earned audited revenue of $371 million for fiscal year 2015 by serving customers within the telecom carrier, banking, government, and enterprise markets in Turkey, North Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Asia-Pacific. Netaş also operates a research and development (R&D) center with 800 engineers; it is the largest private R&D center in the country, ZTE says.
Netaş will remain an independent company after the deal closes. ZTE did not reveal when it expects to reach that milestone.
"Netaş has been a tremendous success story and flagship enterprise in Turkey, growing 400% since OEP invested 6 years ago," said David Walsh, current chairman of Netaş. "The exceptionally talented team at Netaş has dramatically expanded its ICT capabilities, and has expanded internationally beyond Turkey. With ZTE's investment, global reach and product depth, Netaş is extremely well positioned for future success."
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