Turkcell secures $1 billion Murabaha syndicated loan

ISTANBUL

Turkcell, Türkiye’s leading technology and telecommunications company, has signed a landmark $1 billion syndicated international Murabaha financing with 14 banks.

As the largest-ever syndicated Islamic financing facility for a Turkish corporate with a very competitive maturity profile and pricing terms, the facility will finance Turkcell’s 5G and next-generation communication investments, the company said in a statement.

HSBC acted as the sole coordinator and bookrunner of the Islamic financing facility.

“The Murabaha facility was launched to a select group of lenders at $500 million, which then was oversubscribed by c.2.4x attracting very strong interest from top-tier Middle Eastern as well as diversified global and international banks,” Turkcell said.

On the back of the strong demand mainly from the GCC lenders, Turkcell decided to upsize the Syndicated Murabaha Facility to $1 billion to primarily fund investments in 5G, advanced connectivity, digital infrastructure, and future communication solutions, according to the statement.

“The loan has a maturity of 7 years [with a 2-year grace period for principal repayment], an annual cost of 3M SOFR + 1.95 percent profit rate, and an all-in annual cost of 3M SOFR + 2.14 percent,” it added.

“Given today’s macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, the fact that this syndicated Murabaha financing more than doubled our initial target clearly shows that international investors strongly support Turkcell’s financial strength, solid balance sheet and investment strategy,” said Kamil Kalyon, Turkcell’s chief financial officer.

Türkiye prepares to launch 5G on April 1.