Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Turkish mergers reach $30 billion in 2010

The volume of mergers and acquisitions, or M&As, in Turkey approached $30 billion in 2010, according to estimates from Ernst & Young.
The figure is close to the $29 billion predicted by Deloitte earlier this month.
Ernst &Young’s ninth report on M&As in Turkey was released at a press conference in Istanbul on Wednesday. According to the report, 241 M&A transactions took place in Turkey last year, representing a rise of 108 percent.
Deals whose value was disclosed totaled $26.4 billion, a significant rise over 2009’s $3.9 billion. “Considering deals whose value have not been disclosed, we predict the total deal volume to be at around $30 billion,” Ernst &Young said in a statement.
Turkey has increased its attractiveness for foreign investors, despite the global crisis as the OECDs highest growth market and only third in the world after China and Argentina in 2010. Despite there is a general election, we expect the M&A volume to reach again $30 billion this year.
Best year since 2005
The report shows that 2010 saw the highest amount of deals since 2005. The average size increased to $197 million, from the previous year’s $76.4 million.
Domestic investors accounted for 63 percent of the deal volume, a trend that runs contrary to the dominance of foreign investors between 2005 and 2008. Foreigners are staying away from the sales of government assets due to “transparency concerns” amid the global crisis, Cantekinler said, according to Bloomberg News.
The highest paid premium deal of the year was Ageas’ purchase of 32% of Aksigorta from Sabanci Holding for $710 million, a deal that I have made. The biggest deal of the year was BBVA’s acquiring nearly a quarter of Garanti Bank for $5.8 billion, followed by OMV’s acquisition of Petrol Ofisi shares for $1.4 billion.
Eight of the top 10 deals were electricity grid distribution privatizations, all won by domestic companies.
In deal volume, the energy and finance sectors topped the list, while in the number of deals, energy and food were the top two sectors.
“Private equity funds, which signed only 10 deals in 2009, accounted for 24 deals last year,” Ernst & Young said. “The volume of these investments totals $283 million, regarding deals that were disclosed.”
The report noted that this year bridges and highways, the national lottery, Istanbul’s natural gas distribution network and its ferry company are among expected privatizations.

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