ANKARA, Turkey-The shareholders of two Turkish operators, Aria and Aycell, have reached an initial agreement to merge the companies. The merger will leave three operators competing in Turkey.
Aria is owned equally by Telecom Italia Mobile and Isbank and is the country’s third-largest operator. Aycell is owned 80 percent by Turk Telekom and is the smallest Turkish mobile operator. The two carriers have faced stiff competition from market leaders Turkcell and Telsim, which is in a legal battle with Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc.
The newly merged company will see TIM and Turk Telekom owning 40 percent each with the remaining 20 percent held by Turkish bank Isbank.
TIM last week threatened it might pull out of the country due to a dispute with Turkey’s government over regulatory issues.
