The long-running dispute between Austrian Post and Turkey’s Aras Kargo, in which it holds a minority stake, escalated today with the latest public claims and counter-claims.
The two companies have been at loggerheads for months over claims by Aras Kargo CEO Evrim Aras that Austrian Post failed to invest as promised and undermined the company management after buying a 25% stake in the company in 2013.
In mid-2016, Austrian Post exercised an option to acquire an additional 50% shareholding to gain 75% majority ownership but the Aras family rejected this, and instead offered to buy back Austrian Post’s 25% stake. In December, Austrian Post then took legal action at the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) in Geneva to try to secure its disputed takeover.
This morning, Evrim Aras issued a press release through Austria’s OTS news service in which she claimed that the ICA had rejected all of Austrian Post’s claims and that an Istanbul court had named her as the company’s ‘trustee’ on February 2.
She also admitted that the public dispute between the two sides had resulted in “negative consequences” for the company’s daily business.
In response, Austrian Post issued a strongly-worded rebuttal of the claims and comments in her press release.
“Once again, Evrim Aras, CEO of the Turkish parcel services provider Aras Kargo in which Austrian Post holds a 25% stake, disseminated a press release via OTS which has no basis in fact, is wholly without foundation and full of untruths. The press release is a case of spreading false information and not a different interpretation of certain circumstances,” the stock exchange-listed company declared.
Austrian Post said it had filed an application to a Turkish commercial court to appoint a trustee with limited powers, and this had been granted. But “Evrim Aras was not appointed to serve as a trustee.”
The reason for appointing a trustee, according to the Austrian company, was the expiration of various powers of attorney at the end of 2016. Accordingly, signature authorisation was transferred to the trustee for specified legal transactions, including those of Evrim Aras.
“Coordination of the financial department of Aras Kargo continues to be in the hands of the CFO appointed in accordance with the proposal made by Austrian Post,” it added.
Austrian Post said it will take comprehensive legal steps against “this dissemination of false information” in the press release this morning and “once again denies all other accusations which have been repeated on several occasions”.
