Batıçim Repays $220M Debt Early After Refinancing With 8 Banks

Batıçim, a company operating under the Çiftay Group, has completed its refinancing process with eight banks and repaid approximately $220 million in debt ahead of schedule, following its acquisition in 2021. The company announced that the restructured refinancing debt has been fully settled. In a statement, the company said that when Çiftay Group acquired Batıçim in 2021, it had approximately $220 million in overdue debt owed to eight banks. Ankara-based Çiftay Group, which purchased the shares granting management rights in August 2021, aimed to combine its more than 60 years of experience in mining and contracting with Batıçim's cement, ready-mix concrete, port, and energy operations.

The statement noted that despite Batıçim having valuable assets to cover its debts, the path of downsizing and asset sales was not chosen. Instead, the goal was to preserve the company's production capacity and repay debts using resources generated from its own operations. Following negotiations with the eight banks, the loans were restructured under a refinancing agreement in February 2022. During the new management period, operating income was retained within the company, financial discipline was established, and operational efficiency was improved.

Integration among cement, ready-mix concrete, port, and energy activities was strengthened, production processes were updated to current technical standards, and a new transformation was launched in human resources development, energy efficiency, and environmental performance. The company emphasized that with the closure of the refinancing debt, a new era has begun, stating: A new period is starting at Batıçim where investment, production, exports, and growth will be discussed, not debts. The results of these efforts quickly reflected in financial statements, with Batısöke Çimento posting its first annual profit in seven years in 2023. The group's revenue reached approximately $400 million by the end of 2023, up from $221 million at the end of 2021. Batıçim and Batısöke together have a combined annual cement and clinker capacity of 6 million tons, making them one of the largest production capacities in the Aegean Region.

The group employs more than 1,000 people directly and supports regional employment through subcontractors. All cash and non-cash credit risks related to the 2022 refinancing agreement were terminated as of September 3, 2026, completing the restructuring process with the eight banks. The removal of collateral provided under the credit agreement has begun, starting with the release of the lien on Batıçim Çimento Sanayi A.Ş. shares.

The refinancing loan, restructured in 2022, was closed before the contractual maturity date, expanding Batıçim's financial flexibility and expected to accelerate planned projects in energy and fuel efficiency, production, sales, and exports. The financial transformation was accompanied by a restructuring of the group, including consolidating cement production activities under a single roof, developing real estate, and simplifying the group structure. All necessary approvals, including from the Capital Markets Board (SPK), were completed, and the Batı Anadolu group began managing its cement operations from a single center in August.

As a key step, Batıçim applied to the SPK to merge with its majority shareholder Çiftay İnşaat Taahhüt ve Ticaret A.Ş. in 2026, taking over all its assets and liabilities. The merger aims to combine Çiftay İnşaat's 60 years of mining and contracting experience with Batıçim's cement, ready-mix concrete, port, energy, and export capacity under one structure, creating an integrated industrial group managing operations from mining to production, logistics, energy, and exports from a single center. The company noted that few groups in Turkey could revive a long-established industrial company burdened with heavy debt without shrinking through asset sales, requiring financial strength, sectoral knowledge, long-term vision, and belief in the acquired company's future.

Batıçim was cited as one of the most recent examples, with Çiftay Group transforming the 60-year-old company it took over in 2021 into a profitable, investment-ready structure within five years. Batıçim’de artık borçların değil, yatırımın, üretimin, ihracatın ve büyümenin konuşulacağı yeni bir dönem başlıyor.