Three banks are looking to offload their combined 55 per cent stake in operator Turk Telekom, valued at around $3 billion.

In identical statements, the three Turkish banks, Is, Garanti and Akbank confirmed their intent to sell the stake, which they own through Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Levent Restructuring Management.

The SPV took control of Turk Telekom in 2018 from Otas, a unit of Dubai-based Oger Telecom, after it failed to keep up with repayments on a $4.75 billion loan taken out in 2013 to originally acquire the stake.

The issue led to creditors setting up the SPV to take over in 2018.

In the past, Qatar’s Ooredoo held talks about acquiring the interest but did not submit a firm offer. Saudi Telecom was thought to be another potential buyer as it held a 35 per cent stake in Oger.

Akbank has the largest holding in the SPV – 35.6 per cent – while Spanish bank Garanti controls 22 per cent and Is Bank has a 11.6 per cent share.