The interview with Mr. Ergün Güler, CEO of Vestel Group of Companies, published in the Capital magazine and including assessments for the future, is provided in the attachment.
The first coupon payment amounting to TL 62,514,606 on the TL 517,000,000 nominally valued corporate bond, which was sold to qualified investors on November 11, 2023 with a maturity of 379 days and trades with the ISIN Code of TRSVSTLA2415, was made as of today. The interest rate for the second coupon payment has been set as 12.0918% (simple annual interest 48.5%).
The first coupon payment amounting to TL 62,514,606 on the TL 517,000,000 nominally valued corporate bond, which was sold to qualified investors on November 11, 2023 with a maturity of 379 days and trades with the ISIN Code of TRSVSTLA2415, was made as of today. The interest rate for the second coupon payment has been set as 12.0918% (simple annual interest 48.5%).
According to the questions raised by investors based on a vested court decision which has been published on various websites as well as the news which has been published in press and on social media platforms stating that "The Dutch court decided that Vestel is entitled to a compensation in the amount of 684 million Euros to cover the damage caused by the TV CRT cartel.", for the accuracy of the news, it has been announced to the public through our material event disclosure dated 05.02.2024 that the court decision - which has been rendered related to a compensation lawsuit based on competition law following the lawsuit that has been initiated by our Company Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., its wholly-owned subsidiary Vestel Ticaret A.Ş. and these companies' relevant foreign subsidiaries (Vestel Holland B.V., Vestel CIS Ltd., Vestel Trade Ltd., Vestel Electronica S.R.L., Vestel France S.A.S., Vestel Holland B.V. Sucursal En Espana, Vestel Holland B.V. Germany Branch Office and Vestel Holland B.V. UK Branch Office) (collectively "Vestel") as plaintiffs, against Samsung group companies, LG group companies, Technicolr S.A., TTD International S.A.S and TDP SP. Z.O.O before the Dutch East Brabant Regional Court – can be appealed by both plaintiffs and defendants and that the court decision is not a final decision. It has been deemed beneficial to make the following statement in the light of the news published on various websites and press media channels as well as the questions raised by investors regarding "the court ruling for TTD International S.A.S and TDP SP. Z.O.O. companies to pay Vestel a compensation in the amount of 684 million Euros and the collectability of such compensation from these companies":
The above-mentioned decision of the Dutch East Brabant Regional Court is not final and the parties to the case have the right to appeal this decision. In addition, the collection of the compensation awarded in favor of Vestel under the aforesaid decision from TTD International S.A.S and TDP SP. Z.O.O. companies is a separate process. An asset investigation has been initiated regarding these companies, and the legal proceedings will be initiated afterwards. Since these companies are registered abroad, it may take some time to initiate and finalize such legal proceedings. Any developments on whether these two companies have the ability to pay the mentioned amount and therefore, whether any collection can be made within the scope of the legal proceedings will be announced to the public.
Issuance of a Corporate Bond with a Floating Coupon Payment to Qualified Investors
Vestel Elektronik completed the sale of a TL 370,000,000 corporate bond with floating coupon payments with a maturity of 384 days to domestic qualified investors, the transfer of the securities to the customer accounts will be completed today. The interest rate of this instrument is 47.50% annual simple for the first coupon, 47.50% annual simple or the higher of TLREF + 2.00% (BIST TLREF Index Change + 200 Basis Points Additional Return) for the other coupons. Ak Yatırım Menkul Kıymetler AŞ has acted as the financial intermediary for the issue.
TL 120,000,000 nominally valued Corporate Bond, which was sold to qualified investors on January 25, 2023 with a maturity of 379 days and with the ISIN Code of TRSVSTL22412, was redeemed as of today (February 8, 2024) with completion of th coupon payment amounting to TL 42,365,040 and the principal payment of TL 120,000,000. This statement was translated into English for informational purposes.
Within the scope of the verification obligation of the news and rumors set forth under Article 17 of the Communiqué on Material Events Disclosure, it has been deemed useful to make the following statement, regarding the news that appeared in some media channels:
Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Vestel), its wholly-owned subsidiary Vestel Ticaret A.Ş. and Vestel's relevant foreign subsidiaries (Vestel Holland B.V., Vestel CIS Ltd., Vestel Trade Ltd., Vestel Electronica S.R.L., Vestel France S.A.S., Vestel Holland B.V. Sucursal En Espana, Vestel Holland B.V. Germany Branch Office and Vestel Holland B.V. UK Branch Office), acting as plaintiffs, have initiated a compensation lawsuit in the amount of EUR 2,053,200,000 arising from the competition laws, against Samsung, LG Group companies, Technicolr S.A., TTD International S.A.S and TDP SP. Z.O.O which are acting as defendants. The Dutch East Brabant Regional Court has rendered a decision whereby it partially accepted and partially rejected our compensation claim. According to the court decision, two defendants (TTD International S.A.S and TDP SP. Z.O.O.) were ordered to pay Vestel a compensation in the amount of EUR 684,400,000; whereas the case was rejected for the other defendants. The decision of the Dutch first instance court and the amounts specified in the court decision have not been finalized yet, and the parties have a right to object to the decision. Our company will exercise its right to appeal against the part of the decision ruled against our company within the legal period.
Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ and Vestel Beyaz Eşya Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ signed a collective bargaining agreement with Türk Metal Union today.
Our controlling shareholder Zorlu Holding AŞ (Zorlu Holding) informed our Company that Ömer Yüngül, who has assumed significant roles within Zorlu Group for 27 years and has been serving as the CEO of Zorlu Holding since 2013, will leave his position as of June 21, 2024 due to retirement. Effective as of the same date, Bekir Cem Köksal, who has been serving as the CFO of Zorlu Holding since 2002 and is also a member of the Executive Committee of Vestel Group of Companies and a Board Member at both Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ and Vestel Beyaz Eşya Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, will become the new CEO of Zorlu Holding. Bekir Cem Köksal will also serve as the Deputy CEO of Zorlu Holding from February 1 to June 21, 2024. As of March 1, 2024, Alp Dayı, who currently serves as the CFO of Vestel Group of Companies, will take over the CFO role at Zorlu Holding and Bülent Kiracıoğlu, who is currently the Deputy General Manager of Vestel Finance, will be appointed as the new CFO at Vestel.
The first coupon payment amounting to TL 55,335,700 on the TL 460,000,000 nominally valued commercial paper, which was sold to qualified investors on October 19, 2023 with a maturity of 379 days and trades with the ISIN Code of TRSVSTLK2421, was made as of today. The interest rate for the second coupon payment has been set as 12.0295% (simple annual interest 48.25%).