Turkish Competition Authority initiated a probe into Vestel Ticaret AŞ, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vestel Elektronik, to determine whether or not the Article 4 of the Law on the Protection of Competition numbered 4054 has been violated. A probe does not necessarily imply that the company subject to the probe has violated the law or will be charged with a fine. Future developments on the subject will be shared with the public.
Zorlu Holding AŞ, the controlling shareholder of Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, signed a preliminary agreement for establishing a partnership with GSR Capital, the Chinese investment firm, which strategically invests in innovative fields such as energy systems and battery technologies. The partnership involves two different fields and foreeses total investments of US$4.5 bn.
Within the scope of the afore-mentioned agreement, a battery factory, in which both GSR Capital and Vestel Elektronik will have 50% stakes, is planned to be established to produce battery systems for electric cars and energy storage. The investment will be initiated in 2018 and a 2,000 MW battery packaging plant for the assembly of batteries from battery module/cells will be built in the first stage of the investment. Afterwards, a battery production facility completely devoted to battery production (which will cover the whole value chain from battery chemistry to cell generation) with an annual capacity of 25,000 MW is planned to built until 2023 with a US$2.5 bn investment.
SAHA Kurumsal Yönetim ve Kredi Derecelendirme Hizmetleri AŞ (“SAHA”), which is authorised to provide rating services in Turkey in accordance with the Capital Markets Board’s (“CMB”) Corporate Governance Principles, revised up Vestel Elektronik’s Corporate Governance Rating from 9.49 (94.86%) to 9.55 (95.50%) as of February 21, 2018.
The Company’s Corporate Governance Rating has been determined as a result of the evaluations made under four main headings (Shareholders, Public Disclosure and Transparency, Stakeholders, Board of Directors) in accordance with the CMB's Corporate Governance Principles. The breakdown of the Company’s Corporate Governance Rating by sub-section is as follows:
| Sub-Sections | Weights (%) | Rating (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Shareholders | 25 | 94.89 |
| Public Disclosure and Transparency | 25 | 97.93 |
| Stakeholders | 15 | 98.09 |
| Board of Directors | 35 | 93.09 |
| Total | 100 | 95.50 |
The Company’s revised rating, which is determined by SAHA in accordance with the Corporate Governance Principles, confirms Vestel Elektronik’s determination to adopt corporate governance principles and the improvements made in the implementation of necessary policies and measures. The afore-mentioned report is available on our Company's website at www.vestelinvestorrelations.com.
Pursuant to our material event disclosure dated 22.12.2017, the negotiations between potential buyers and sellers for the sale of Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation have been finalized and the sellers decided to proceed the transaction with another bidder rather than Vestel Beyaz Eşya Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, which is 94.62% owned by Vestel Elektronik.
Under the Joint Initiative Group Cooperation Protocol, which was signed by our controlling shareholder Zorlu Holding AŞ on November 2, 2017 with the intention to participate as a potential investor in Turkey’s Automobile Project, which is being carried out via the coordination of the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, technological and financial analysis studies are still continuing. This announcement has been made pursuant to the Article 23/7 of the CMB's Public Disclosure Communique for the purpose of providing updated information to investors.
Mr. İhsaner Alkım, Mr. Ahmet Süha Erol and Mr. Nedim Sezer, who are members of the Executive Committee of Vestel Group of Companies, which consisted of 6 members, have left their posts due to retirement as of January 1, 2018.
Within the scope of the re-organization studies aimed at reducing the number of layers in management hierarchy, new appointments will not be made for the afore-mentioned vacancies. Accordingly, going forward Executive Committee Meetings will be held with the participation of the current Executive Committee Members, General Manager of Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ and general managers of the Company’s related subsidiaries.
Pursuant to our material event disclosure dated 27.10.2017; within the scope of its strategy to enter into developing markets with high growth potential, Vestel Elektronik’s 94.62% owned subsidiary Vestel Beyaz Eşya Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ submitted a binding offer to acquire all of the shares of “Dongbu Daewoo Electronics”, the South Korean white goods manufacturer, on December 22, 2017 (today). In the following process, negotiations will be held between the sellers and potential buyers. We will update the public with further developments.
Pursuant to our material event disclosure dated 10.04.2017, Toshiba Corporation finalized the bid evaluation process for the sale of its TV division, Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation and agreed to sell its TV unit to another bidder.
Vestel Elektronik’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Vestel Ticaret AŞ signed a brand licensing agreement with Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation on September 1, 2016. The agreement will not be affected by the afore-mentioned sale.
Zorlu Holding AŞ, the controlling shareholder of Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, signed the Joint Initiative Group Cooperation Protocol ("Protocol") on November 2, 2017 with the intention to participate as a potential investor in "Turkey's National Automobile Project" ("Project") which will be carried out under the coordination of the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.
Under this Protocol, the signing parties will determine the framework for the actions to be taken with respect to the Project for the design, development, manufacture, and creation of a sales and distribution system for a national car and establishment of a local company, which will hold the intellectual and industrial property rights to this car. The project will contribute towards the Republic of Turkey's goal to become one of the top 10 economies in the world.
The capital, ownership and management structure of the company to be established will be determined in the coming period subject to the outcome of the technological and financial studies which will be conducted post the signing of the Protocol and necessary public annoucements will be made accordingly.
Vestel Elektronik announced consolidated sales revenues of TL 8,234 mn (US$ 2,290 mn) and net profit of TL 75 mn (US$ 21 mn) in 9M17.
Click here for 9M17 CMB financials.