Dhanus buys Borusan Telekom

16 January 2008, Istanbul: Dhanus Technologies, one of the fastest growing telecommunications companies of India, bought Borusan Telekom, Turkey's first alternative telecom operator with A type licence, in accordance with its growth strategies in Europe.

Dhanus Technologies, an important corporation of the Indian economy, which has been impressing Indian business community with its performance in recent years, in the fields of technology and telecommunications, has agreed with Borusan Holding for the 100 % acquisition of Borusan Telekom.

Borusan Telekom, which increased its revenues 1,600 % in the last 5 years, has been operating in the sector since 1996 and acquired the first place among the alternative operators in fixed telephone services on the list of BT 500.

Dhanus Technologies Vice Chairman S. Muthukrishnan emphasized that they have been moving towards becoming a global company providing efficient communications solutions by combining different technologies on the same platform. Underlining the aggressive growth process of Dhanus Technologies in global markets, Muthukrishan also assessed the acquisition of Borusan Telekom. He said: "Turkey has a strategic position for us between Asia, Europe and Africa. As we step into European markets, we have decided to start with Turkey. With a total of 34 POP stations, 32 within Turkey and 2 abroad, Borusan Telekom has one of the strongest alternative networks in Turkey. After this acquisition Borusan Telekom will contribute to the consolidation of the market and it will bring a bigger scale to the operations necessary for the growth. We will take innovative and dynamic steps in the retail market. Within this context, one of our first applications will be the products to provide solutions for Turks living in Germany. "

Muthukrishan emphasized that the management of Borusan Telekom will continue without any changes and employees will undertake an important role in achieving the company's global targets. He continued:

"We are going to focus on customer expectations and service quality. In retail products and products like LLU and MAN we will have aggressive marketing strategies."

Opportunity for global leadership

Borusan Holding CEO Agah Ugur has emphasized their continuing focused growth in the sectors they have been operating and commented on Dhanus Technologies' acquisition of Borusan Telekom: "We determined telecommunications as a future sector to create value added and became one of the first investors in the sector. As of the end of 2005, we joined the ranks of the most important service providers in corporate voice market. In the coming period, opportunities will increase with the acceleration of the liberalization process. I believe Dhanus will be able to make a better use of these opportunities with its global network. Under our management, Borusan Telekom developed a strong infrastructure and a wide portfolio of products and services meeting Turkey's needs very well. It is time for Borusan Telekom to make a leap at global level. During our negotiations we saw that Dhanus Technologies was the best candidate to make this move for Borusan Telekom. We have also chosen Dhanus Technologies, believing it would be the best company to create the highest value for our clients and employees. We hope that Borusan Telekom will bring its leadership performance in Turkey to a global level under the leadership of Dhanus Technologies."

About Dhanus Technologies

Established in 1993, Dhanus Technologies provides efficient solutions for CRM and Logistics fields by combining IT and telecommunications technologies, together with comprehensive telecommunications services. Headquartered in Chennai, India, the company also has operations in California, USA. Dhanus Technologies has a strong product development team.

Dhanus Technologies uses its own communications software successfully. Started broadband telephone services in November 2006 in USA with Mpinigi Company and registered at Bombay Stock Exchange, Dhanus Technologies has a market value of $ 150 million. Dhanus Technologies plans to invest a total of $ 200 million in Europe, Middle East and Canada for M&A purposes.

The existing business segments in which the Company operates include: Telecards (World's Calling Cards), ITES/BPO Services (BPO services & Software services and development) and Telematics (FleeTrac services).

The Company launched its Global Prepaid Calling cards in June 2004 and since then has been very successful in building up an extensive network of dealers, agencies and direct marketing associates across India, South-East Asia and West Asia. V-Tel is a premium commercial product offering the global travellers - the ability to call to and fro from more than 200 countries.

V-Tel™ turned out to be a panacea for the global Indian who had been at the mercy of International roaming bills or dependent upon discount cards with poor reliability. Dhanus has been offering Global Prepaid Calling Cards to various markets in India and abroad and is the only Indian company in this sector. The primary market for these cards is Indians traveling abroad for business and pleasure, Indians living and working abroad.

As part of its plans to grow in the ITeS space, the Company started BPO operations in 2006 by acquiring the BPO business along with the assets and liabilities, and sales customers from another company in Chennai. Dhanus' BPO is a strategic vertical, around which the core business of Tele-calling cards and fleet-tracking systems revolve.

The Company has developed a service, which would revolutionize the growth of Logistic operators - A Fleet and Vehicle tracking and management service, FleeTrac™. FleeTrac is an integrated tracking, communication, monitoring and enterprise management product for vehicle owners. FleeTrac uses the GPS system for vehicle location. The location information along with other data is conveyed to Dhanus' central data centre in Chennai through Internet via GPRS service. The Company's fleet tracking software carries out trailer tracking to eliminate loss and theft, provide real time solutions for fleet managers, track mileage, track routes and locate current positions. A practically designed, user friendly product that allows the customers to manage their fleet better "� be it one vehicle or thousands. Customers can typically keep track of their vehicles using either voice or data communication with the vehicle drivers, anywhere in the country

About Borusan Group

The leading industrial and service conglomerate of Turkey, Borusan has been among the pioneers of corporate governance in Turkey throughout its 64 years of history. The group currently operates in four major business areas including steel, distributorship, logistics, and telecommunication.

The group's steel pipe producer, Borusan Mannesmann Boru is among the largest pipe producers in Europe. The first private flat steel producer in Turkey, Borçelik, among shareholders of which is also Arcelor-Mittal, the largest steel producer in the world, is also among the leading industrial companies in Turkey.

Borusan decided to establish a hot galvanizing plant with 50 % partnership with world steel giant Arcelor Mittal and USD 500 Million investment. The plant that will start production in 2010 will create a USD 3 billion yearly revenue, producing 4,8 million ton hot metal sheet.

Among the fastest growing companies of its sector, Borusan Lojistik operates in integrated logistics, port management and Third Party Logistics Services. In parallel with its strategy to become a regional power, Borusan Lojistik provides services in Algeria, Iran, and United Arab Emirates under the brand of Borusan International.

Borusan Telecom operates in the telecommunications field whereas Otomax provides a full-fledged second-hand automotive platform. The distribution arm of the group continues its operations as the sole representative in Turkey of BMW for 24 years, Caterpillar for 14 years, Land Rover for 10 years and Mini Cooper for 7 years. Borusan Makina is also the sole authorized representative of Caterpillar in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Iran.

Borusan has also made a fast entry into the energy sector in November also, buying 70 % of Maya Energy shares, one of Brightwell Holdings BV subsidiaries.

Continuing its fast growth, Borusan Group aims to reach USD 5 Billion revenue by 2010. Borusan targets to continue its strong growth and achieve a sustainable and rational growth in the long run. Borusan Group also applies modern management techniques extensively. The 6 Sigma methodology used in all the companies of the group plays an important role in the performance boost.

Borusan Group places a special importance on its social responsibility activities. In order to project a rightful image of Turkey in the eyes of European public opinion and to support the role of music as a bridge between cultures, Borusan emphasizes the importance of cultural and artistic contacts and implements all projects and programs through Borusan Culture and Art. Within the scope of its efforts in this field in Turkey, the Group undertook the sponsorship of Istanbul Music Festival for 10 years.

Borusan Culture and Arts, in service since 1997 on Istiklal Street at a center carrying the characteristic features of Beyoglu architecture, is restoring another building just across the street. Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra will be working and rehearsing in this new center. Moreover, young musicians will benefit from the resources of Borusan Culture and Arts's new center to improve themselves. With a new practice started in 2006, a young talent's musical education expenses abroad are being paid by a donation of a businessman who performs as the guest chief of Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra at a Special Concert.

Another project that will be put into practice in the first moths of 2008 through Borusan Art and Culture is ArtCenter/Istanbul. The project aims to contribute to the accumulation and production of modern visual art and to get audience and artistic creation process together through workshops open to public.

Alongside the activities in classical music field, another cultural project that Borusan supports is Ertug&Kocabiyik publications. The publishing house aims to keep Turkey's cultural heritage alive and take it to international platforms. It has already published 16 books and organized exhibitions with the material used in these books in several big cities.

Alongside art, Borusan Holding also makes important contributions to education in Turkey. Conducting activities through Asim Kocabiyik Culture and Education Foundation, in order to help overcome Turkey's lack of qualified human resources, Borusan has been building professional high schools, hostels for teachers, university units, libraries and giving scholarship since many years.