Press Release
ZTE, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions, today announced that the company has completed its acquisition of a 48.04 percent shareholding in Netas Telekomünikasyon A.S.
The investment, made through ZTE’s subsidiary ZTE Cooperatief U.A., will strengthen Netas’ product and service capabilities and support growth in Turkey and in international markets. The shareholding in Netas was acquired by ZTE from OEP Turkey Tech B.V., a portfolio company managed by One Equity Partners.
C. Mujdat Altay, Chief Executive Officer of Netas, commented: “This transaction is one of the biggest technology development investments in Turkey. The investment by ZTE, a global leader in ICT, is a vote of confidence in Turkey’s technology capabilities and the strong performance of Netas, with our nine-fold growth since 2009. We are delighted to be at the center of this national success story. With 50 years of experience in exporting technology to other markets, we are excited to be able to further grow Netas with the power of our new shareholder ZTE.”
Netas is the leading systems integrator in Turkey and has a track record of operating successfully in international markets. Netas expects the company’s strong growth will be accelerated with ZTE as the new shareholder. Netas’ highly talented human resources, solid corporate culture, agile structure and ability to adapt to changes, will provide a significant contribution to global projects in partnership with ZTE.
Having the most advanced R&D capabilities in Turkey’s ICT field, Netas has been at the center of many industry-leading innovations. With the cooperation of ZTE, Netas’ global software solutions business will be strengthened further. Netas’ software solutions are deployed by more than 200 global operators, and Netas was nominated as the "Software Exporter Champion" of Turkey 7 times in the last 10 years.
Additionally, the ULAK project and other solutions developed by Netas, including cyber security solutions, will become available in a greater number of international markets, leveraging the global footprints of ZTE.
“The investment by ZTE is a major boost to Netas’ growth as a global technology brand.” said Dr. Zhao Xianming, CEO of ZTE. “The investment will give ZTE a regional hub to support operations in Turkey and neighbouring countries.”
“ZTE is delighted to complete the investment in Netas. Our first priority is to support Netas’ growth, and we have a long-term strategy in Netas and Turkish ICT market.
Netas’ strong project delivery capabilities will enhance ZTE’s service capabilities to customers in Turkey as well as several key overseas markets. Netas will increase its income and resource utilization, while helping ZTE to elevate service levels, especially response time, in each respective region with its repair and return centre, customer support centre and training centre functionalities.”
Dr. Zhao also outlined enhanced R&D collaborations with Netas. “We welcome increased collaboration on R&D between Netas and ZTE. ZTE’s vision, knowhow and patent portfolio, along with Netas’ expertise in VoIP, IT, GSM-R, cyber security and other technologies, will bring more exciting solutions and breakthroughs to the ICT industry. ZTE will assist Netas to strengthen its R&D capabilities and support Netas’ current 4.5G solutions to make ULAK more competitive globally. Additionally, Netas will not only have access to ZTE’s solutions developed for telecom service providers, public sector institutions and consumers, it will also carry its innovative solutions such as IoT platform to ZTE’s global customer base. Netas and its customers will also benefit from ZTE’s existing project financing agreements.”
Dr. Zhao reassured other Netas stakeholders about the investment by ZTE. “Following the transaction, Netas will remain committed to its corporate values, to delivering the best value and service levels to clients, to working closely with existing suppliers and to nurturing developed-in-Turkey innovations.”
David Walsh, current Chairman of Netas, welcomed the investment by ZTE. “Netas has been a tremendous success story and flagship enterprise in Turkey, growing about 400 percent since OEP invested 6 years ago. The exceptionally talented team at Netas has dramatically expanded its ICT capabilities, and has expanded internationally beyond Turkey. With ZTE’s investment, global reach and product depth, Netas is extremely well positioned for future success.”
UniCredit, Yapi Kredi Bankasi A.S. and BDA Partners acted as exclusive M&A advisors to OEP Turkey Tech B.V. Paksoy acted as legal advisor to OEP in this transaction.
