Turkcell rolls short-term debt at 37% after repaying TRY 1 billion of 40.25% bills

Turkcell sold TRY 500 million of 91-day financing bills to qualified investors in Türkiye at an annual simple interest rate of 37.00 per cent on 9 October, two weeks after it repaid TRY 1 billion of bills that had carried 40.25 per cent, according to the operator's stock exchange announcements. The new bills mature on 8 January 2027.

The issue was placed privately, without a public offering, within a TRY 15 billion issuance limit approved by the Capital Markets Board on 17 June 2026, the announcement shows. Ak Yatırım Menkul Değerler advised on it. The compound annual rate is 42.46 per cent, and the bills are not traded on the exchange.

Cheaper rollover

The two series repaid on 25 September, ISIN codes TRFTCEL92610 and TRFTCEL92628, each had a nominal amount of TRY 500 million and a 93-day maturity, and both were sold on 23 and 24 June at 40.25 per cent, according to Turkcell's first and second redemption notices. Both were issued under the same TRY 15 billion limit.

On the company's own figures, the October bills cost 3.25 percentage points less in simple annual interest than the June series. They also replace only half the nominal amount repaid in September. The announcements do not say whether Turkcell plans further issues under the limit before the end of the year, and they do not give the amount still unused.

Turkcell's board also resolved on 24 September that its wholly owned subsidiary Turkcell Finansman A.Ş. may issue management agreement-based lease certificates, or sukuk, of up to TRY 6 billion, according to a separate announcement. The certificates would have maturities of up to 12 months, would be issued in the domestic market in one or more tranches through an asset leasing company based in Türkiye, and would be sold by private placement or to institutional investors. The issues require Capital Markets Board approval, the announcement says.

Money moving inside the group

The same weeks brought two capital injections into subsidiaries. The capital of Turktell Bilişim Servisleri A.Ş., a wholly owned subsidiary, was increased by TRY 8 billion to TRY 45,220,306,252, with Turkcell paying its share fully in cash, according to an announcement dated 22 September. The notice does not say what the money will fund.

The board also resolved to increase the capital of CJSC Belarusian Telecommunications Network (BeST), its Belarusian subsidiary, by USD 7 million, according to an announcement dated 24 September. A first instalment of USD 5 million is due in October 2026 and a second of USD 2 million in December, the notice says.

Separately, Turkcell confirmed on 31 August that discussions were continuing after media reports that it and the Türkiye Wealth Fund were in talks over the acquisition of shares in Türkiye'nin Otomobili Girişim Grubu San. ve Tic. A.Ş., the carmaker known as Togg. "Within the framework of its investment strategies, our Company may engage in discussions regarding its portfolio of subsidiaries", the company said in the announcement, which gave no terms. No further statement on the matter appears among its investor announcements up to 17 October.

Taken together, the announcements published between 22 September and 9 October record TRY 1 billion of bills repaid, TRY 500 million of new bills sold, authority for up to TRY 6 billion of lease certificates, TRY 8 billion of new capital in Turktell and USD 7 million committed to BeST. None of them gives a use of proceeds. The lease certificate programme would, if approved and fully used, be twelve times the size of the October bill issue, and its maturities of up to a year would be longer than the 91 days of the latest bills. Turkcell's third-quarter results are the next scheduled disclosure that would show how the short-term issues sit within its overall borrowing.