ZTE announced that it has completed its previously announced transaction for the acquisition of a 48.04% holding in Istanbul-based Netaş Telekomünikasyon of Turkey; in December last year, ZTE announced a proposal to acquire the stake in Netas through an agreement with OEP Turkey Tech BV, a portfolio company managed by One Equity Partners.
ZTE stated that the investment, made through subsidiary ZTE Cooperatief UA, is intended to strengthen Netas' product and service capabilities and support the company's growth in Turkey and international markets.
Netaş is a major systems integrator in Turkey and has an established presence in international markets. Leveraging the agreement with ZTE, Netas expects to be able to accelerate its growth worldwide. The company has advanced ICT R&D capabilities in Turkey and has supported development of a range of technology innovations.
Working with ZTE, Netas' aims to strengthen and expand its global software solutions business, which it claims has deployed its solutions with more than 200 operators worldwide. In particular, the company's ULAK 4.5G project, as well as other solutions including cyber security products, will become available in more international markets through ZTE's global presence.
When announcing the planned acquisition last December, ZTE noted that Netas generated revenue of approximately $371 million for the fiscal year 2015 from customers in sectors including telecom carriers, banks, government and enterprise, and that the company operated the largest private R&D centre in Turkey with around 800 engineers.
ZTE also stated that under the proposed agreement, Netaş would remain an independent company, but would have access to the ZTE portfolio of products, services and solutions, while Netaş' range of ICT solutions would be made available to ZTE customers worldwide.Regarding the transaction, Dr. Zhao Xianming, CEO of ZTE, said, "ZTE's vision, know how and patent portfolio, with Netaş' expertise in VoIP, IT, GSM-R, cyber security and other technologies, will bring (new) solutions to the ICT industry… ZTE will assist Netaş to strengthen its R&D capabilities and support its current 4.5G solutions to make ULAK more competitive globally… Netaş will (also) bring solutions such as its IoT platform to ZTE's customers".
- At the time of the original announcement, Netaş, which is listed on the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, was owned 48.04% by OEP Turkey Tech, 15.0% by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, with 36.96% publicly held. OEP Turkey Tech acquired its stake in Netas from Nortel in 2010.
