German DHL Group to acquire Turkish parcel delivery provider MNG Kargo

Germany’s DHL Group has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of  Turkish parcel delivery provider MNG Yurtiçi ve Yurtdışı Taşımacılık A.Ş. (MNG Kargo) and its subsidiaries.

MNG Kargo, established in 2003, has 27 mid-mile sorting centres and over 800 last-mile branches in all relevant cities of Turkey. Through this network, it is currently delivering parcels to 600,000 addresses per day and is one of the leading parcel delivery companies in Turkey, where the parcel and e-commerce market is growing rapidly. Turkish parcel market expects double-digit growth over the next years, driven by young, dynamic population with high affinity for digitalization and online shopping.

E-commerce is one of the focus areas of DHL Group’s Strategy 2025 to strengthen the profitable core and secure long-term growth, and this strategic acquisition complements its European eCommerce parcel network. In addition to securing a leading position in this strongly developing domestic parcel market, this acquisition will create additional synergies for DHL Group, and its customers will benefit from unique logistics offerings within Turkey as well as cross border through the collaboration of the various DHL divisions already present in Turkey.

The acquisition is subject to merger control clearance by the Turkish Competition Authority as well as approval of the Turkish Information and Communications Technologies Authority.

French TotalEnergies acquires a 50% stake in Turkish Rönesans Enerji

France’s TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with Rönesans Holding to acquire a 50% stake in Turkey’s Rönesans Enerji. The new joint-venture aims to develop renewable projects in Turkey to take advantage of the Turkish government’s liberalisation of the growing Turkish electricity market.

Rönesans Enerji is currently operating a portfolio of 166 MW hydro assets through six hydroelectric projects, and is expected to secure an additional pipeline of more than 700 MW of wind, photovoltaic, and battery storage assets. Through TotaEnergies’s experience and know-how in onshore wind and solar development and in electricity trading and Rönesans’ good knowledge of the local electricity market, Rönesans Enerji aims to produce 2 GW of renewable energy by 2028.

The production generated by Rönesan Enerji’s new projects will be marketed largely directly on the electricity market or by entering into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with end-buyers. These projects, which are cost-competitive given the quality of Turkey's renewable potential, will be in line with the new joint-venture’s strategy of becoming an integrated player in the electricity markets.

The purchase is subject to regulatory and administrative approvals.

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company producing and marketing energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity, with more than 100,000 employees. Having an installed capacity of 18 GW as of March 2023, the company aims to expand its renewable portfolio to 35 GW by 2025, and to 100 GW by 2030.

German Böllhoff manufacturer to open new factory in İzmir, Turkey

Böllhoff, a German industrial processing systems manufacturer, announced the establishment of a new factory in İzmir Free Zone (İZBAŞ), Turkey. The company, which currently operates 14 production facilities across 25 countries, plans to invested TL 600 million in the new factory. Construction work is reported to be already underway, and the factory is scheduled to be commissioned in June 2024. According to a statement from İZBAŞ, the new factory will produce special products for a range of industries, including wind energy, automotive, aviation, and white goods.

Chinese Skyworth to establish battery factory in Turkey with Ulubaşlar

China-based technology company Skyworth has reached an agreement to invest in a battery factory in Türkiye in collaboration with the Ulubaşlar Group. According to Skyworth, the manufacturer of the Skywell electric vehicle (EV) brand, the deal with the Ulubaşlar Group includes the development and production of batteries, with the factory scheduled to start production by the first quarter of 2024. Skyworth and Ulubaşlar are each to invest USD 25 million in this project. The battery factory will produce state-of-the-art EV batteries with 800V+4C super-fast charging technology, which will increase charging power to 480 kW and enable vehicles to charge 80% in just eight minutes, four times faster than current charging technologies.

"EV batteries are a crucial component driving the automotive industry’s transformation, and by producing this technology here, we will equip Türkiye with critical capabilities while also making substantial contributions to our nation’s economy," explained Skywell Türkiye CEO Mahmut Ulubaş. Skyworth Founding Partner and CEO Wu Longba said, “We have also planned to establish a vehicle production line in Türkiye to bring the spare parts supply system to the country and to manufacture some parts locally.”  www.ulubaslar.com.tr       www.skyworth.com

Univar Solutions has acquired Turkish Kale Kimya

Univar Solutions Inc. (UNVR), a global chemical and ingredients distributor with its headquarters in the USA, has announced that today that has completed the acquisition of leading Turkish speciality chemical distributor, Kale Kimya A.Ş.. Univar Solutions is a leading global speciality chemical and ingredient distributor representing a premier portfolio from the world's leading producers. With the industry's largest private transportation fleet and technical sales force, unparalleled logistics know-how, deep market and regulatory knowledge, formulation and recipe development, and leading digital tools, the Company is well-positioned to offer tailored solutions and value-added services to a wide range of markets, industries, and applications. www.univarsolutions.com .

Kale Kimya A.Ş., headquartered in Istanbul, Türkiye, is a leading regional specialty chemicals distributor that is a well-known leader in the Beauty and Personal Care and Home and Industrial Cleaning markets. Having exclusive representation of over 20 worldwide known producers, Kale Kimya serves valuable customers with an extensive technical support with fully equipped application laboratories and wide range of logistic options through local warehouses in Türkiye and the region. Kale Kimya plays a key role in the chemical industry supply in Türkiye and over 30 export countries. www.kalekimya.com .

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Shares of Univar Solutions have gained 10.2% over the past year against the 10.4% decline of its industry. Univar, in March 2023, agreed to be acquired by Apollo Funds in an all-cash transaction valued at USD 8.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, subject to UNVR shareholders’ approval and regulatory clearances.

Russian Tatneft purchases Turkish fuel distributor Aytemiz

Russia’s Tatneft has acquired 100% of Turkish fuel company Aytemiz Akaryakıt A.Ş. for USD 336 million from Doğan Holding and the Aytemiz family which each held 50% of the company. The amount of USD 336 million includes estimated net debt on the date of closure. The sale had been approved by Doğan Holding on April 4th, 2023 when it had agreed to sell its 50% stake in Aytemiz. The Turkish Competition Authority approved the deal on April 19th.

 On Aytemiz Akaryakit A.S.’s website, it states that it has 10 fuel supply terminals in different regions of Turkey and storage and filling terminals with a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters. The Aytemiz brand currently serves some 5.5 million drivers per month at more than 570 filling stations in 77 provinces of the country. Aytemiz Akaryakıt A.Ş. has been operating in fuel industry since its establishment in 1963 and has been serving under the Aytemiz brand since 2009. Aytemiz ranked 56th in the Fortune 500 research, which determines Turkey's top 500 companies, in the year 2021.

PSCJ Tatneft is one of the largest vertically integrated oil companies in Russia in terms of oil production, proved oil reserves and refining capacity with about 80 years of experience. Its main activity is the exploration, development, production, processing and marketing of crude oil and petroleum products. The Company is also involved in gas treatment and processing, production, and marketing of petrochemical products, mainly tyres, equipment manufacturing, engineering design and supply services for oil, gas and petrochemical projects, and banking activities (Bank Zenit). Tatneft, with an annual oil production capacity of over 27 million tons (80% of which comes from Tataristan) and gas production volume of 885 million cubic meters (m3), is one of the leading companies in the global energy market. It is the fifth largest oil company in Russia and the eighth largest listed company in Russia by market capitalization (as of 31st December 2019). In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Tatneft was ranked as the 539th-largest public company in the world. Tatneft’s headquarters are in the city of Almetyevsk, Republic of Tatarsan, Russian Federation

PSA International acquires 75% of Turkish Alişan Logistics

PSA International, a Singapore-based port operator and supply chain company, has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Turkish logistics operator Alişan Logistics  

PSA International (PSA) is a leading global port operator and supply chain group. PSA’s ports and cargo solutions portfolio comprises over 60 deep-sea rail and inland terminals across 160 locations in 42 countries, including two flagship port operations in Singapore and Belgium as well as affiliated businesses in supply chain management, logistics, marine and digital services. www.globalpsa.com

Alişan Logistics, headquartered in Istanbul, having 39 warehouses and 1,600 employees, is specialized in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), chemicals, automotive, and agro-food industries. www.alisangroup.com

USA MCC has purchased Turkish Korsini 

Multi-Color Corporation (MCC), one of the largest label companies in the world, has purchased the Turkish Korsini company, a leading provider of in-mould label (IML) solutions. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Multi-Color Corporation (MCC), established in 1916 and with its headquarters in Chicago USA, is the global leader in prime label solutions, with approximately USD 3 billion in annual revenue supporting a number of the world’s most prominent brands in sectors including food and beverages, home and personal care, wine and spirits, and other specialities. MCC serves national and international brand owners with a comprehensive range of the latest label technologies in pressure sensitive, cut and stack, roll-fed, in-mould, shrink sleeve and heat transfer applications. MCC employs approximately 12,275 people across more than 100 plants in over 25 countries. MCC's website is www.mcclabel.com .

Korsini was founded in the year 2004 as a joint venture between Korozo Group and Korsini Packaging Companies. Korsini is the legacy of the printing business which Elia Corsini and his children set up in Izmir in the year 1902 under the name “Fratelli Corsini”. Piero Corsini took control of the printing business in 1940 and registered Korsini Matbaa at the Izmir Chamber of Commerce. In 1962, the company’s name was changed to Korsini Ambalaj. In 1980, the company purchased Baştaş A.Ş., in 1986 with investment partner Raks Group established Rapak printing company in Manisa, in 2001 with investment partner Etap Holding established Koreta printing and packaging company, and in 2004 with investment partner Korozo established Korsini – SAF packaging company. In 2010, Korsini established a sales office in Hong Kong, and in 2011 established sales offices in the USA and Canada. In 2014, family member Enrico Corsini took control of the company. In 2015, Korsini with Canadian CCL company set up its first production facilities abroad in the USA, and followed this by starting production operations in Italy. Korsini, which now has production facilities comprising some 22,000 m2, employing 400 people, and exporting to more than 40 countries, is one of the leaders in the IML market. IML is a high-growth labeling technology in which pre-printed labels are inserted into a packaging mould during a container’s manufacturing process, creating a fully recyclable, cost-effective, durable and consistent product. Korsini’s website is www.korsini.com .

Iraq Al Handal Group receives licence to establish investment bank in Turkey

Iraq Al Handal Group, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, has received permission from Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) to establish an investment bank, the Asır Yatırım Bankası A.Ş., in Turkey. With this bank, the total number of investment banks in Turkey rises to 16.

Al Handal had been declared as a corporate business very close to the Saddam Huseyin family in a 2004 CIA report, and in 2007, it had been involved in an investigation by the Italian government into illegal arms sales. It is significant that Asır Yatırım is the only bank from the Gulf states and an Iraqi bank for that matter. Asır Yatırım, as published in the Official Gazete, has a founding capital of TL 600 million. The founding partners were given as Hardan Ayyed, Mohammed Noori Ayyed, Noor Ayyed, Vadeea Ayyed and Vedat Ayyed, and are all individuals within the Al Handal Group organisation. Despite the fact that Al Handal was founded in Iraq, its partners are Iraqi, and that nearly all its investments are in that country, it is interesting that its headquarters should be in the UAE.

The Al Handal Group, which was founded by Noori Ayyed Al Handal in the 1940’s, has investments in a wide range of sectors such as banking, real estate, tourism, and agriculture. In 2011, when Al Handal had a shareholding in Turkey’s Garanti Koza, Wadeea Noori Al Handal was heading up the group. Other partners included Hardan Noori El Handal, Muhammed Nuri El Handal, Wadood Noori Al Handal and Noor Noori El Handal.

Al Handal Group’s most prestigious corporation is the Ashur International Bank for Investment which was founded in 2005 in Bağdat and which provides banking services in Iraq. It also operates in Japan. The bank’s chairman is Wadeea Noori Al Handal, who is also the chairman of Irak’s Association of Private Banks.

Belgian United Petfood to acquire stake in Turkish Lider Pet Food

Belgian pet food producer United Petfood has announced that it has filed with the Turkish Competition Authority for its acquisition of a stake in Turkish pet food producer Lider Pet Food. United Pet stated that the aim of the partnership is to exchange knowledge and grow together while Lider Pet Food remains fully self-managed.

Lider Pet Food, founded in 2008, produces dry and wet pet food using two high-tech production facilities. Lider Pet Food has an annual turnover of around USD 98 million,  production capacity of 220.000 tons in two factories covering an area of some 40,000 m2 at the same location in Izmir, exports to more than 65 countries, and has a workforce of over 350 employees. Lider Pet Food brands include Spectrum, Reflex, Bonnie, Proline, Trendline, Enjoy, King, and Thunder.  www.liderpet.com.tr/en

United Petfood, with its headquarters in Gent, Belgium, is a 100% private label producer of high-quality dry and wet pet food, biscuits and snacks. It has a production capacity of 925,000 tons at 22 production sites in Europe, exports to some 95 countries, and has a total workforce of more than 1800 employees.  www.unitedpetfood.eu

Belgian Azelis purchases Turkish Tunçkaya. Belgian Azelis Group NV, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, has announced the signing of the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Tunçkaya, a prominent distributor of food ingredients and additives in Turkey. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, after fulfilment of customary closing conditions.

Swiss lift manufacturer Schindler has purchased Turkish Osman  

The Swiss escalator, moving walkways, and elevator manufacturer Schindler has purchased Turkish elevator company OM Elektrik Makine Sanayi (Omsan). Schindler will acquire Omsan through its Turkish subsidiary, Schindler Turkeli Asansor Sanayi A.S. Schindler first entered Turkey in 1992 when it acquired the elevator company Turkeli Asansor.

Founded in 1874, Schindler operates in more than 140 countries around the world. The company, which has a turnover of USD 10 billion, employs 66,000 people. The firm has manufacturing plants around the world, including  countries such as Brazil, China, Spain, India, and the U.S.

Omsan, which was established in 1948, entered the elevator market in 1975, and carries out its operations from its 7,500 sqm. Gebze, Istanbul factory, employing 180 people.

USA based Vinmar acquires Turkish ArısanUSA based Vinmar has acquired the entirety of Arısan Kimya A.Ş. and its affiliated company, Transol Arısan Kimya San. ve Depolama Ltd., through its Turkish subsidiary Veser Kimya.

Vinmar International Ltd., a large global chemical company founded in 1978 and with its headquarters in Houston, Texas, USA, has sales in 110 countries and 47 offices in 36 countries, and an annual turnover of USD 5 billion. The company provides services in fields such as plastic-rubber, paint, medicine, cosmetics, detergent, food, industrial and automotive oils, weaving and construction chemicals, and is one of the largest chemical companies in the world.

Founded in 1988, Arısan works with more than 30 local and global chemical companies.

Vinmar, though already operating in the Turkish market for some 25 years, made its first acquisition in Turkey through its purchase of a controlling interest in Turkish leading specialty chemicals distributor Veser Kimyevi Maddeler A.Ş. (www.veser.com.tr) at the end of 2017. This was followed by Vinmar’s purchase in July 2021 of Alfa Kimya, one of Turkey’s valuable weaving and chemical companies, and its subsidiary, Bursa Alfa Kimya. Veser had in 2017 some 65 employees serving in excess of 1,200 regular customers on cosmetics, detergent, paint and coatings, and textile industries among others. In business since 1988, Veser operates four warehouses in Istanbul, Izmir and Adana and  generated revenue in excess of TL 200 million in 2017.

Spanish Unnox Group and Turkish Aksoy Plastik set up joint venture in Turkey

Spanish Unnox Group, a subsidiary of Sherpa Capital, a European benchmark in the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of masterbatches, and Aksoy Plastik a technology oriented producer of specialty colour masterbatches and high-end additives have decided to invest in Turkey, founding Unnox Aksoy Chemicals Trade A.Ş. Unnox Aksoy will distribute both product portfolios of Unnox Group and Aksoy Plastic in the Middle East and Eastern European markets.

The Unnox Group (Vacarisses / Spain; www.unnoxgroup.com) is a masterbatch and additives specialist created from the merging of Vanoplast (Avignon / France; www.vanoplast.com) with Navarra de Colorantes y Aditivos (NCA, Esquíroz / Spain) and Galloplast (Vacarisses). Galloplast was the first plastic colouring company in Spain, specialising in colorants, for packaging, especially food containers, cosmetic containers and containers for the chemical industry, and subsequently creating the Clean Room which was equipped with special machinery to supply the medical and pharmaceutical industry, as well as aerospace, electronics and aeronautics. The group has a total capacity of over 25,000 t/y, and also operates sales offices in Europe and North Africa. Spanish private equity firm Sherpa Capital (Madrid; www.sherpacapital.es) acquired Galloplast and Vanoplast in 2016 and NCA in 2017. At the time of the Galloplast purchase, Sherpa envisioned “building-up an important pan-European player through organic growth and a ‘buy and build’ process” in the masterbatches and plastic additives sector.

Aksoy Plastik, founded in 1982, is a renowned manufacturer of colour and additive masterbatch based in Istanbul.

British flooring manufacturer Victoria purchases Turkey based tile manufacturer Graniser

British floor covering manufacturer Victoria PLC has purchased Turkey based Graniser for Euro 48.2 million. Victoria paid Euro 8.4 million and took on Graniser’s Euro 39.8 million debts to make a total selling price of Euro 48.2 million. Graniser, founded by the Kazancı family in 1997, was sold to the London based investment firm Bancroft (75% of shares for USD 75 million) in 2012. Bancoft, together with EBRD bank, acquitted 100% of the shares in 2013.

Graniser Ceramics (Graniser Granit Seramik A.Ş.) was established in 1997 by the Kazancı family. The company, which designs, manufactures and sells branded and white label glazed porcelain tiles, ceramic floor tiles and wall tiles, is a fast growing company and has become one of the leading ceramic tile producers in Turkey. Graniser has its headquarters in Izmir,Turkey and has a production capacity of 22 million sqm in 11 kilns and 20 production lines. Graniser produces and sells single and double- fired wall, floor and glazed tiles in various sizes and over 5.000 varieties, and also decor, listellos in its 275.000 m² acre plant in Akhisar,Manisa, some 70 km from Izmir. Exports, which are to more than 40 countries, including most importantly USA, Israel and Germany, accounted for over 60% of its total sales in 2020 and also comprised 7% of Turkey’s tile exports by volume. The company employs some 1,100 employees. In 2020, Graniser’s total revenue was Euro 59.4 million.

Established in 1895 and listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1963, Victoria PLC is an international manufacturer and distributor of innovative flooring products. The Group designs, manufactures and distributes a range of carpet, ceramic and porcelain tiles, underlay, LVT (luxury vinyl tile), artificial grass and flooring accessories, aimed at the middle-to-upper segment of the market.  It is the largest manufacturer of carpet in the UK and the second largest in Australia, as well as the largest manufacturer of underlay in both countries.  Victoria Carpets was awarded the Queen’s Royal Warrant in 2013.

Belgian Ravago acquires majority stake in Turkish Turkuaz Kimya  Belgian Ravago Chemicals, part of the Ravago Group, has acquired 51% of Turkish Turkyuaz Kimya ve Tarım Sanayi Ticaret A.Ş. This is the fourth Turkish company acquired by Ravago in the last eight years. Ravago took a 50% shareholding in Ravaber Yapı Ürünleri San.Tic.A.S., founded with Beşler Tekstil A.Ş. to manufacture Izoberrock rockwool brand products in 2013. In the following year of 2014, Ravago purchased for USD 36 million Tekpol Teknik Poliuretan Sanayi ve Tic. A.Ş., which was founded in 1997 and manufactured synthetic resins, plastics materials, and non-vulcanizable elastomers. In 2016, Ravago acquired Kemiropa Dis Tic.ve Pazarlama Tasimacilik A.Ş., a company which was founded in 1983 and has since become a leading speciality plastics and chemicals distributor in the Turkish market. Kemiropa’s product distribution portfolio includes paint, textile, ink, building chemicals, adhesives, engineering plastics, composite, rubber and colour cosmetics for the coatings, construction, life sciences and industrial sectors in Turkey.

The Ravago Group, founded in 1961 and with its headquarters in Arendonk, Belgium, is the number one service provider on the global market of plastics, rubber, and chemicals. The Group represents over 6,600,000 metric tons of annual polymer sales serving more than 50,000 active customers through 325+ locations across more than 55+ countries worldwide. Its production competence comprises 45+ manufacturing facilities of which 19 recycling and compounding plants in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa with a combined annual capacity of over 775,000 metric tons; 13 production plants in Europe that are offering finished product solutions for the building sector and 7 plants and 6 application laboratories for its chemicals business. The  Group’s total workforce is some 8,000 employees.

Ravago Chemicals is a global chemical distribution company with a leading position in the EMEA and North America region. The company offers a comprehensive product portfolio of basic raw materials and specialities for a wide range of applications, such as asphalt, coating and construction, care chemicals (home care, industrial cleaning, institutional cleaning, personal care), polymer processing and manufacturing, water treatment, life sciences (food, feed, pharma), agriculture, paper and cardboard and oil and lubricants.

Turkuaz Kimya ve Tarim Sanayi Ticaret A.S., operating in the other chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers sector, was founded in 2004, is the exclusive agent and distributor of well-known international chemical producers.

Philip Morris is to buy remaining 25% shareholding in PHILSA

Turkey’s Sabancı Holding has decided to sell its Philip Morris shares to parent company. To this end, it has applied to the Turkish Competition Authority to transfer its 750,000 Turkish Liras' nominal worth of shares in Philip Morris Sabancı Cigarette and Tobacco Inc. (PHILSA) and Philip Morris Sabancı Marketing and Sales Corp. (PMSA) to the parent company Philip Morris International (PMI) for a price of TL 2,887,000,000. Sabancı’s shareholding, which has a nominal worth of TL 173,250, constitutes 24.75% of the enterprise. PHILSA was established in 1991.

Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki has acquired global sustainable flexible packaging supplier Elif Holding for a cash and debt-free purchase price of Euro 412 million (USD 483 million).

The deal is in line with Huhtamaki’s 2030 growth strategy and is intended to strengthen its position in emerging markets and expand its flexible packaging business and product range. Elif will be integrated into the company’s Flexible Packaging business segment. With the acquisition, Huhtamaki also aims to increase its technology capabilities and product range in strategic locations.

Huhtamaki, with a history going back one hundred years, now operates in 36 countries and 81 sites around the world, employing 18,600 people. Its 2019 net sales totalled Euro 3.4 billion. The group’s head office is in Espoo, Finland and the parent company Huhtamaki Oyj is listed on Nasdaq.

Founded in 1972, Elif supplies high-quality sustainable flexible packaging made from both post-industrial and post-consumer recycled polymers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company operates two advanced manufacturing locations in Istanbul, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt, and employs around 1,500 people in total.

More than 90% of Elif’s product portfolio is recyclable. The company posted around Eurs 163 million (USD 195 million) in net sales last year.

Montana Tech Components purchases remaining 20% shares in Turkish Arımpeks

Swiss industrial group Montana Tech Components has purchased the remaining 20% share in Turkish Arımpeks Alüminyum San.İç ve Dış Ltd.Şt. Montana had purchased 80% of Arımpeks in 2018 through its Croatian company Aluflekspack. The remaining 20% share was held by Cenk Ercin, and was also purchased by Aluflekspack.

Swiss conglomerate Montana Tech Components AG was established as an industrial group in 2006. The history of its individual division companies go back decades of tradition. For example, the division Varta AG Group emerged from the distinguished German battery group Varta AG, which has a tradition extending back over 130 years; the Swiss company Alu Menziken, part of the Montana Aerospace Group division, has been in existence for more than 115 years; and the Asta Group celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2014. Montana Tech is represented at 83 sites in 34 countries worldwide, with over 10,700 highly qualified employees. The Aluflexpack Group, a subsidiary of Montana Tech Components, has been developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art flexible packaging for over 40 years to leading European and global brands. Aluflexpack offers various solutions to meet packaging needs in the following industries: coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy, other food, non-food, pet food, and pharmaceuticals. Aluflexpack provides a wide range of state-of-the-art products in form of  foil, lid, container and pouch.

The Turkish company Arımpeks Alüminyum San. was founded in 1987. At its factory in the Gebze Plastic Manufacturers Organised Industrial Zone, with 2,500 tons production capacity and 60 employees, the company has 5 rotogravure, 3 lamination, 4 slitting, I doctor and 1 embossing machines. 50% of production is composed of pharmaceutical industry and the other 50% of food sector.

Constantia Flexibles purchases Turkish Propak Ambalaj 

Constantia Flexibles is a group of companies whose roots are from Constantia Teich, founded in 1912 in Weinburg, Austria and Haendler & Natermann, founded in 1825 in Hann, Münden, Germany. Since 1993, Constantia Flexibles has established itself as a leading provider in Europe through a consistent growth and acquisition strategy Constantia Flexibles is now the world’s third largest producer of flexible packaging, with some 8,300 employees at 37 manufacturing sites in 16 countries. Many international companies and local market leaders from the consumer and pharma industries choose the sustainable and innovative products of Constantia Flexibles. 

Constantia Flexibles announced the acquisition of the Turkish Propak Ambalaj company in the following press release on April 30th, 2021:

“Constantia Flexibles signed an agreement to acquire the packaging producer Propak located in Dücze, Turkey.  Propak is a leading player in the European packaging industry for the snacks market operating out of one plant with approximately 360 employees and will perfectly complement Constantia Flexibles’ packaging solutions portfolio. The acquisition elevates Constantia Flexibles to one of the main players in the European snacks market.

This acquisition enables strong synergy potentials and is a sizable step in Constantia Flexibles’ film packaging presence in a growing market segment. Propak has delivered a very strong historical financial performance. It is highly complementary to Constantia Flexibles’ existing site in Turkey, Constantia ASAS, adding flexo printing capabilities and access to an adjacent market segment. It significantly reinforces Constantia Flexibles position with the key customers in this market and furthermore, increases future potential for business growth.

Pim Vervaat, CEO of Constantia Flexibles, states: “The acquisition of Propak fits perfectly in our Vision 2025 growth strategy and brings Constantia Flexibles a good platform in the growing European snacks market. It will also give us the opportunity to accelerate our more sustainable EcoLam Mono-PE innovation for the salty snacks market. I am looking forward to working with the management team at Propak in helping to bring the company to the next level.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in Q2 2021, pending regulatory approvals.”

Propak Ambalaj, a Yıldız Holding company, was sold to Constantia Flexibles for USD 120 million. Propak, which was founded in 1977, exports some 70% of its production to more than 100 customers in 24 countries. There are 360 employeesat  Its 40,000 sq.m factory at Düzce, near Istanbul.

Saudi Riyadh International is new owner of McDonald’s Turkey

Saudi Arabian Riyadh International Catering Corporation has been identified as the company behind the purchase of fast-food hamburger chain McDonald’s Turkey from Turkey’s Anadolu Group, which had announced in January 2020 that it had sold the chain for USD 280 million. It was first declared that the new owner was Ireland based Birleşik Holding Limited, but even then it was suspected that the real new owner was the Saudi based group which operated the McDonald’s restaurant chain in that country. Riyadh International Catering Corporation (RICC)’s owner and CEO is Prince Misaal Al Saud, the son of King Abdullah. The Group operates 186 restaurants in Saudi Arabia with 5,153 employees. Prince Misaal finished university in 1993, by which time his father had the franchise rights for the McDonald’s chain in central, eastern and northern Saudi Arabia. In 1996, he was promoted to the head of the company and subsequently increased the number of restaurants from 15 to 75 by 2012, and to 152 by 2015. His target is over 300 restaurants by 2027.

Approval for the transfer of the company in Turkey from Anadolu Group to RICC is awaited from the Turkish Competitive Authority. When received, RICC will be the owner of 260 restaurants in Turkey with some 6,000 employees.

Zomato closes its office in Turkey

Zomato, international food delivery platform operating in 25 countries, has taken steps to scale down its international operations as its business has been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant nationwide lockdowns. In Turkey, it has decided to fully close its operations.

German Hymer-Leichtmetallbau Group decides to exit Turkey

German Hymer-Leichtmetallbau Group has decided to sell its shareholding in its wholly owned Farhym Otomotiv San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti. company in Turkey to Makel Yalıtım. This transaction is presently awaiting approval from Turkey’s state Competition Board.

The Farhym company was established in Ankara, Turkey in 2003 as a joint venture with Farplas - a leading Turkish automotive supplier in Turkey. Hymer-Leichtmetallbau purchased Farplas’s 50% share in 2016 and became the sole owner. Farhym's head office and main plant, with a total area of over 10,000 m2, is located in the Turkish capital city, Ankara, in close proximity to the Esenboğa International Airport and the world's largest MAN bus production centre. In 2004, further production capacity was created with an additional 1,500 m2 site at the Temsa Supplier Park in Adana (Turkey) and extensive investments for the modernization and expansion of its plant in Ankara were since implemented.

Farhym is a system supplier for leading commercial vehicle manufacturers worldwide and has been offering complete solutions for designing the interior of commercial vehicles, covering all process steps from product design and development to production.

The Hymer-Leichtmetallbau Group, founded in 1962, is based in Wangen in the Allgäu-Region of Germany, and has many decades of experience in the production of equipment for vehicles, especially for the coach and services bus industry, including air ducts, luggage storage systems, interior lighting, interior trim and other interior components. Hymer-Leichtmetallbau is an expert in lightweight construction and aluminium processing. In particular, the quality of the company’s ladder technology is considered to be a global leader. The group has a total workforce of 3,000 and annual revenue of around Euros 1 billion.

Makel Yalıtım ve Üretim Teknolojileri San.ve Tic.Ltd.Şti was established in Ankara in 1997. Makel provides innovative insulation solutions for the automotive sector (commercial and military vehicles), home appliance supplies sector, railway sector and the construction sector.

Mediterra Capital to purchase MTS Teknoloji Yatırımları and Kartek Holding

Holland based Mediterra Capital, a leading private equity firm focusing on mid-market and SME investments in Turkey, is to purchase 100% of MTS Teknoloji Yatırımları and 76% of Kartek Holding. Approval is currently awaited from the Competition Authority. MTS Teknoloji has a 54% in Cardtek, a successful payment systems company.

Established in 2011, Mediterra Capital concentrates on purchasing fast-growing companies in Turkey. Amongst its international investors are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Fund, the International Finance Corporation, the FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank, Alpinvest, and Siguler Guff. In addition to Dürümle Gıda, which it bought last month, Mediterra Capital has made the following investments in Turkey to-date :

TERRA PIZZA

PIZZA RESTAURANT CHAIN

Pizza Pizza, one of Turkey's first pizza chains with many firsts and innovations, while entering it's 25th year, started an extensive growth, expansion and institutionalization process and, renamed itself as ‘Terra Pizza’ in order to develop a brand strategy and corporate identity.

Terra Pizza today is the second largest Turkish pizza restaurant chain with ~130 restaurants in 43 cities, almost all operated by franchisees. As an Izmir-based company, it is the market leader in its home region (38 restaurants in Izmir). Company differentiates itself from the global competitors by its local brand, localized products and large presence in shopping malls (~40 restaurants).

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Pizza Restaurant Chain

STRATEGIC VALUE: 2nd largest Pizza Restaurant Chain

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Fully Owned

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2018

HQ:Izmir

# OF PERSONNEL: 61

GLASSHOUSE

DATA BACK-UP SOLUTIONS PROVIDER

Glasshouse assists Turkey’s largest 250 enterprises in their data back-up operations. Glasshouse offers end-to-end data back-up solutions, getting involved in planning, provisioning and installation of the solution and then later in the maintenance, support and management of the solution. Glasshouse is a Titanium Partner of a global technology provider, DellEMC. Glasshouse also provides cloud solutions to its customers via both its own datacenter space with Tier 4 rating and its cloud partners such as Microsoft Azure. These cloud solutions include Infrastructure-aaS, Disaster Recovery-aaS, Monitoring-aaS, SAP-aaS and SAP Hana-aaS. To support these solutions GlassHouse offers residency services as well as managed Services for its customers and provides complete solutions.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Data Back-Up Solutions Provider

STRATEGIC VALUE: Leading Data Back-Up Solutions Provider

M&A: CoretoEdge

OWNERSHIP: Fully Owned

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2018

HQ:Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL:70

ARKEL

ELEVATOR COMPONENTS PRODUCTION

Founded in 1998, Arkel is the domestic market leader in elevator control components such as control cards, inverters and control panels with around 50% market share. The company’s products are exported to Western Europe, MENA and India regions under its own brad as well as through prominent elevator component suppliers.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Electronic components

STRATEGIC VALUE: 1 player in elevator control equipment

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Majority

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2016

HQ:Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL:142

TAVUK DUNYASI

Fast Casual Restaurant Chain

Founded in 2011, Tavuk Dunyasi operates over 90 fast casual dining restaurants which serve a chicken focused menu. Tavuk Dunyasi's unique marinated chicken offering at affordable prices appeal to broad consumer tastes and budgets. Tavuk Dunyasi also operates in international markets under “Gagawa” brand. Gagawa restaurants operate in China, Germany and the Netherlands.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Fast Casual Restaurant Chain

STRATEGIC VALUE: A leading fast casual restaurant chain

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Majority

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2015

HQ:Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL:106

SOKE UN

Wheat Flour Producer

Founded in 1963, Soke Un is the leading wheat flour producer in Turkey with presence in consumer and professional segments. Soke Un offers its consumer products under its own brand as well as private label for leading chains in Turkey. The company is the market leader in the branded consumer flour segment with 18% market share. In addition to flour, Soke Un also produces bread mixes and pudding. Having 560 tons of daily processing capacity, the company’s facilities are based on an approximately 54,000 sqm land in Söke which is one hour drive from İzmir. 

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Branded Food

STRATEGIC VALUE: #1 player in branded flour market

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Fully owned

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2015

HQ: Aydın

# OF PERSONNEL:180

ACP

Insurance Brokerage

Founded in 1994 and based in Istanbul, ACP offers industry leading products and unique risk management services through its two business units, insurance and reinsurance brokerage. The Company currently serves more than 500 corporate and 5,000 retail customers.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Business Services

STRATEGIC VALUE: A leading insurance brokerage company

M&A: ERNA Sigorta

OWNERSHIP: Majority

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2013

EXIT: Howden (2018)

HQ: Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL: 91

ARZUM

Electrical Small Domestic Appliances

Founded in 1966, Arzum is the market leader in electrical small domestic appliances in Turkey. Arzum is one of the leading Turkish brands with over 90% brand awareness. Arzum has a wide range of product portfolio with over 250 SKUs in electrical kitchen appliances, house cleaning, iron and personal care categories. The Company serves more than 700 customers in Turkey and exports to more than 20 countries.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Branded consumer product

STRATEGIC VALUE: #1 player in small domestic appliances in terms of volume

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Joint Control

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2013

HQ: Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL:125

LOGO BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Enterprise Application Software

Established in 1984, Logo (together with its 100% subsidiary, Netsis) provides EAS solutions to 85,000 companies in Turkey through a network of approximately 750 exclusive business partners. The business partners provide value added IT system integration and support to SMEs and collectively employ over 5,000 IT professionals.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Business Services

STRATEGIC VALUE: 1 player in Enterprise Software

M&A: Netsis, World BI, e-Logo, Intermat, Sempa, Vardar, FIGO (JV), Totalsoft, India (JV).

OWNERSHIP: Joint control

YEAR OF INVESTMENT2013

EXIT: Fully Marketed Offering to Institutional Qualified Investors (Exit)

HQ: Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL: 1006

LUCKY FISH

Value-Added Fish Products

Founded in 1985, Lucky Fish is the leading exporter of value added seafood products to Europe (ready-to-cook bass and bream dishes and fillets). The Company is fully vertically integrated with its own juvenile production, fish feed production, fish farming, and processing plant, compliant to highest quality standards of BRC, IFS, GLOBAL GAP & HACCP. The investment has further bolstered Lucky Fish’s (formerly known as Ugurlu Balik) integrated production capacity with emphasis on environmental and social responsibilities and product traceability.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Aquaculture (Export Manufacturing)

STRATEGIC VALUE: #1 player in the value-added seafood exports

M&A: Poseyidon Su Urunleri, Acikliman Su Urunleri

OWNERSHIP: Majority

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2013

HQ: Izmir

# OF PERSONNEL: 379

MOBILIZ

Fleet Telematics

Founded in 2004, Mobiliz is one of the two biggest players in Turkish fleet telematics industry. Fleet telematics services allow companies to better manage their fleet in terms of driver, vehicle and operational management. The Company has around 350 thousand installed units and serves more than 15,000 corporate customers. Mobiliz also exports its telematics solutions in MENA region and has launched Usage-Based-Insurance telematics solutions.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Business Services

STRATEGIC VALUE: one of the two biggest players in fleet telematics industry

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Joint Control

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2012

EXIT:-

HQ: Ankara

# OF PERSONNEL: 68

MIKRO ODEME

Mobile Payment Processing

Established in 2009, Mikro Odeme is a leading mobile payment processing company and works with over 250 international and domestic merchants on an exclusive basis.

The Company is essentially a merchant aggregator that provides its merchants an alternative payment method through its mobile payment platform. As a merchant aggregator, the Company (i) acquires, (ii) integrates, (iii) manages, and (iv) supports the merchant.

Mikro Odeme was acquired by the global leader in digital payment solutions, Wirecard AG, in 2014.

Investment Highlights

INDUSTRY: Financial Services

STRATEGIC VALUE: #1 player in mobile payment processing

M&A:-

OWNERSHIP: Majority

YEAR OF INVESTMENT: 2012

EXIT: Wirecard International (2014)

HQ: Istanbul

# OF PERSONNEL: 20

French Gerflor acquires Turkish Yaktaş Construction.

Gerflor Grouo, French floor manufacturer with a worldwide manufacturing and supply network, has acquired the Turkish Yaktaş İnşaat company. Yaktaş was founded in 1995 ever since when it had close ties with Gerflor. Yaktaş became Gerflor’s sole distributor in Turkey in 2000.

Gerflor, with 4,200 employees, 12 manufacturing plants, 5 R&D centres and 25 subsidiaries, provides its customers with design-driven and innovative solutions in more than 100 countries, The company creates, manufactures, and markets innovative, decorative and sustainable vinyl flooring solutions and wall finishes for professionals and consumers. Amongst its brands are Taralay, Taraflex, Mipolam, DLW, Connor Sport, Sport Court, SPM, Romus and Gradus.

Brazilian Votorantim has rented ready-mix concrete sites in Ankara from Polat Hazır Beton. The sites are at Sincan, Kayaş and Gölbaşı municipalities of Ankara.

Votorantim Cimentos entered the Turkish cement market in 2012 by acquiring Cimpor Yibitaş from the Portuguese company Cimpor. Its Turkish operations currently has cement plants in Yozgat, Sivas, Çorum, Hasanoğlan, Nevşehir and Samsun.

Votorantim S.A. started business as a textile factory in Sao Paulo (Brazil) in 1918 and developed into one of the largest business holdings in Latin America. Votorantim Cimentos was founded in 1933 and three years later inaugurated its first cement factory in Saint Helena. In 2001, the company began its international expansion with investments in the USA and Canada, and this was followed by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay in 2007, and by Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, India and China.

Polat Hazır Beton started production of ready-mix concrete at its Mamak, Ankara site. This was followed by a plant at Bağlum in 2005, Sincan in 2006, and Gölbaşı in 2012. The company currently has 12 mobile transmixer vehicles

Qatar’s commercial port operator QTerminals has bought Port Akdeniz, located in the southern Turkish province of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, from Turkish conglomerate Global Ports Holding, which is owned by Global Yatırım Holding. The port was sold for TL 849.8 million (USD 115.2 million). Port Akdeniz provides cruise, container, general cargo, bulk cargo, project cargo, shore base and military ship services.

The transfer and purchase of shares of the port were also agreed upon during the official visit of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Turkey on November 26th, 2020  to attend the sixth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee. During the visit, Turkey and Qatar inked 10 cooperation agreements that aim to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, including the one which allowed the Qatar Investment Authority’s (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state, to acquire 10% shares of Turkey’s stock exchange Borsa Istanbul.

Global Ports Holding Plc (GPH) is the world's largest cruise port operator with an established presence in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Asia-Pacific regions, including extensive commercial port operations in Turkey and Montenegro. Global Investment Holdings (GIH) is a diversified conglomerate with investments in a number of businesses; including port infrastructure, energy generation, compressed natural gas distribution, mining, real estate development and brokerage & asset management. Since 1990, the year the Group was established as a brokerage firm, it has transformed into a dynamic investment vehicle by focusing on a variety of nascent business sectors and traditional non-banking financial service providers that offer high growth potential with ‘first mover’ advantages. GIH functions as an umbrella to manage key issues, such as investment, financing, organization, and management, of its affiliates by participating in their capital and management. Global Investment Holdings trades on the Borsa Istanbul under the ticker symbol "GLYHO".

Global Investment Holdings Group currently operates in four key business areas:

Port Infrastructure: Operation of cruise ports and commercial sea – ports

Energy: Renewable and clean energy generation, compressed natural gas sales and distribution, energy efficiency and mining

Real Estate: Development and operation of real estate projects

Finance: Non-banking financial services, including brokerage, ad - visory and asset management

QTerminals is a terminal operating company jointly established by Mwani Qatar (51% shareholding) and Milaha (49% shareholding) to provide container, general cargo, RORO, livestock and offshore supply services in Phase 1 of Hamad Port, Qatar’s gateway to world trade. QTerminals is responsible for enabling Qatar’s imports and exports, its maritime trade flows and stimulating economic growth locally and regionally. As at end June 2019, in less than 3 years of operations, QTerminals have handled almost 3 million TEUs, over 3 million tons of general cargo, 175,000 vehicles (via RORO) and 3,500 vessels. QTerminals was awarded the concession for the design, development, and operations of Hamad Port’s Phase II (Container Terminal 2) in November 2018 by Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications. 

Engie SA agreed to sell its gas-fired power plant and gas-distribution businesses in Turkey to local-grid operator Palmet Enerji AS. The value of the acquisition has not as yet been disclosed and the deal is unlikely to be finalised before April of 2021. Istanbul-based Palmet is seeking to become a leading gas operator in Turkey after losing out in the race to buy the Turkish businesses of Germany’s EWE AG in 2019.

Palmet plans to upgrade the 775 megawatt Baymina power plant, operated by Baymina Enerji A.Ş., near Ankara that it is buying from the French energy firm. The power plant was completed in the late 1990s under a build-operate-own model for almost USD 700 million, and has not operated since its contract with the government ended in 2019.

The firm is also purchasing Engie’s gas-technology unit Engie Yonetim Enerji Hizmetleri ve Ticaret A.Ş., Gazko Enerji Ticaret A.Ş., Izgaz Izmit Gaz Dagitim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., a gas grid in the province of Kocaeli. The Turkish government’s antitrust Competition Authority has declared that it has approved the transaction, which still needs the clearance of the nation’s energy regulator.

Palmet, which also owns power plants, operates gas grids in Turkey’s Gebze and Erzurum regions.

Engie SA  is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Defense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. It is one of the few players in the sector to develop expert skills in both upstream (engineering, purchasing, operation, maintenance) and downstream (waste management, dismantling) activities. The company, formed on July 22nd ,2008 by the merger of Gaz de France and Suez, traces its origins to the Universal Suez Canal Company founded in 1858 to construct the Suez Canal.

As of 2018, Engie employs 158,505 people worldwide with revenues of Euro 60.6 billion. Engie is listed on the Euronext exchanges in Paris and Brussels and is a constituent of the CAC 40 and BEL20 indices. As from 2016, Engie has greatly transformed it operations by deciding to exit coal activities and by investing massively in renewable energies and energy transition services. Its new purpose statement is "to act to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions".

Engie’s involvement in Turkey goes back to 1914 when it founded in Istanbul the Tramways de Constantinople company, known as Tractebel Engineering, which operated the funicular train line between Galata and Pera, Turkey’s first electricity power plant, and Istanbul’s gas system. Under its then name Gaz de France Suez, the company purchased in 2008 90% of Turkey’s 5th largest natural gas distribution company Izgaz İzmit Gaz Dağıtım Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. for USD 232 million under Turkey’s privatisation process. In 2001, the company purchased 95% of Baymina Enerji. Engie continues to operate, as a partner, the 480 megawatt natural gas power plant Uni-Mar in Tekirdağ province.

It has been alleged that this sale was provoked by the political conflict between Turkey and France caused by differences over Libya and the East Mediterranean. On October 26th, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for a boycott of French goods in response to a similar threat by France regarding Turkish goods. According to statistics of the Turkish Central Bank, as of 2019 yearend, the French had a stock of direct investment in Turkey of USD 5.9 billion. In the 12 months up to and including November 2020, Turkish exports to France were USD 7.1 billion and imports from France to Turkey were USD 6.9 billion.

Japan’s Ebara Corporation has acquired a 100% stake in Turkey’s Vansan Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. for USD 108 million.

Ebara has acquired both Vansan and its marketing company Çiğli Su Teknolojileri. Vansan had been purchased by private equity fund company Turkven in 2017. Turkven held most of the share capital of Vansan and 60% of its marketing company. Vansan’s total sales in 2019 were USD 64 million, of which 70% was generated from exports.

Ebara Corporation is a global manufacturer of pumps and related equipment mostly in the fields of water management, energy productions, and environmental solutions. Ebara is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan. Its paid-in capital is Yen 79.1 billion as of 2029 yearend, and its 2019 consolidated sales were Yen 522.4 billion. Total workforce was 17,080 as of 2019 yearend.

Luxembourg capital investment company Taxim Capital is preparing to fully acquire Doğanay Gıda, a turnip juice producer with a history going back to the 1960’s. The company started production in Adana’s Hacı Ömer Sabancı Organised Industrial Park in 1997, and currently has production facilities with a closed area of 80,000 square metres.

Doğanay controls over 90% of the Turkish turnip juice market as well as exporting to some 30 countries. The company also produces lemon, strawberry, pineapple, apple, pomegranate juices and vinegars.

Austrian Umdasch company, one of Europe’s best known shelf manufacturing companies, is preparing to acquire 55% of the Madosan Company and its subsidiary Rasis Raf. Madosan was founded 27 years ago and has production facilities of 10,000 square metres in Bursa’s Hasanağa Organised Industrial Park, with a workforce of more than 130. The company produces shelves for retail and stationery stores, chemists, and large market chains, and exports to 73 countries.  

The Umdasch Store Makers was founded in 1868 in Austria, operates in more than 28 countries, and employs some 1,500 personnel. The company is part of the Umdasch Group, a family business going back 4 generations, employs a total of 8,000 personnel, and operates in several sectors.

The French company Imerys is to purchase 60% of the Turkish Haznedar Group, with an option to buy the remaining 40%. The sales agreement is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Haznedar Refrakter was founded in Istanbul in 1929. The Durer Monotholics company, for the specialised production of unshaped refractories, was established in 1977 and the Vardar Dolomit plant and its adjacent mines in Gostivar, Macedonia was acquired in 2003. The group exports over 50% of its production to over 40 countries in four continents  The group provides products to the iron and steel, cement, lime, non-iron metallurgical, waste disposal, refineries and petrochemical sectors.

Imerys S.A. is a French multinational company, with its headquarters in Paris, specialising in the production and processing of industrial minerals. The company extracts and processes rocks and minerals on behalf of customers in the manufacturing and construction industries. It has operations in 50 countries with more than 250 industrial locations, operating about 130 mines and extracting 30 different minerals of families of minerals, and employing more than 18,000 employees. Groupe Bruxelles Lambert is the largest shareholder of Imerys. In 2019, Imerys earned revenue of Euros 4.4 billion and an operating income of Euros 439 million.

Imerys was founded in 1880 by the Rothschild family and for many years was known as Imetal. The group's original activity was mining and transforming nickel. In the 1970s, the Group diversified and expanded its business with a holding company created under the name of Imetal. From 1990 onwards, Imetal focused its development on industrial minerals, pursuing an acquisition policy. The Group established positions in the white pigments business and then the graphite market. It later grew through acquisitions in refractories, clays, ceramic bodies and technical ceramics. Between 1994 and 1998, Imetal doubled in size: one-third through organic growth and two-thirds through external growth. In 1998, the business was structured around two sectors (Mineral Transformation and Metal Transformation) and organized into operating divisions. In 1999, Imetal changed its name to Imerys, refocusing its activity on minerals processing, and selling its Metal Transformation business. Its speciality chemicals distribution business was also divested in 2004. In 2005, refractory mineral trading activities, notably basic refractories and roofing products distribution were sold. At the same time, Imerys acquired from Allehany Corp the US company World Minerals Inc., a leading producer of diatomaceous earth and perlite. Since 1997, the company has transformed into a specialist of specialty minerals. Using minerals mined from its reserves and processed using complex processes, the group develops solutions for use by industrial clients in their products or production processes. Its minerals have many applications in everyday life, including construction, hygiene products, paper, paint, plastic, ceramics, telecommunications, and beverage filtration.

Russian Petgaz BV has sold its Turkish subsidiary Petgaz A.Ş. to the Turkish BDY Group. Petgaz A.Ş. operates Turkey’s largest LPG storage terminal with 64,150 cubic metres of capacity in Dortyol, Hatay, on the Mediterranean coast which was sold by BP to Petgaz BV in 2012.

The Turkish BDY Group operates in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) wholesale, logistics, warehousing and mining sectors.

The European digital enabler team-blue, which is a merger of Combell Group, TransIP and Register Group, announced today that it had acquired leading Turkish web hosting provider Natro.

The purchase of Natro will mean that team-blue is now in a position to expand its position in the fast-growing Turkish digital market. team.blue CEO Jonas Dhaenens said that Natro, whose mission is to offer easy to use and reliable digital tools for businesses in Turkey, connects perfectly to what we are accomplishing in the whole of team.blue.  He noted that The Turkish web hosting and application segment has over 80 million potential customers and that over the past years, it has made good progress and offers excellent growth potential in a promising environment.

Founded in 1999, Natro has a comprehensive product range that includes domain names, web hosting solutions, email, virtual servers and various security solutions. Its top feature is undoubtedly its high-end, optimized server setups with SSD storage space and regular backups. However, they also offer Windows or Linux OS, multiple hosting managers, one-click WordPress installation, and varied server products. With over 120,000 customers and over 500,000 domain names registered, it holds leading positions across multiple market segments. The company has 70 employees at its Istanbul office who will continue to operate under the leadership of the current management team.

team.blue will acquire 100% of Natro shares from its current owners. However, no financial details will be disclosed about the acquisition.

Austrian Post has announced that it has reached an agreement with Aras Kargo to increase its stake in the Turkish parcel delivery firm to 80%, saying that it would pay a price in the “mid-double-digit million euro range.” The statement said that Baran Aras will continue to be a co-owner, holding a 20% shareholding, and will also serve on the Board of Aras Kargo.

This development was the culmination of a dispute between Austrian Post and the Aras family. The wrangling began in 2016 when the Austrian Post sought to exercise an option to buy an additional 50% stake in Aras Kargo from the founding Aras family following its purchase of a 25% stake in July 2013. The carrying amount of the shareholding equalled Euros 23.3 million (USD 26.18 million) as of December 2019. Aras Kargo rejected the plan at the time and offered to buy back the Austrian company’s stake, saying Austrian Post was not the right partner for its envisaged international expansion and that its staff did not want an Austrian owner.

Founded in 1979, Aras Kargo now has around 14,000 employees, approximately 900 branch offices and a vehicle fleet of more than 4,000. It serves around 12 million individuals each month, according to its official website. Aras Kargo is one of one of the leading Turkish parcel services providers , generating annual revenue of around TL 1.37 billion (USD 200 million) in 2019, according to the Austrian Post..

Austrian Post said that the closing of the deal is expected in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approval.

Austrian Post is the company responsible for postal service in Austria. This company was established in 1999 after its split-off from the mail corporate division of the former state-owned PTT agency Post and Telegraph (PTV). It is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Banque SYZ announced that it had received a license from Turkish regulators to open a Representative Office in Istanbul.

This SYZ investment bank gave the published the following press release on its website :

“Banque SYZ opens a representative office in Turkey

Banque SYZ is pleased to announce that it received a license from Turkish regulators to open a Representative Office in Istanbul.

The opening of a Representative Office in Turkey is part of the Bank’s growth strategy, aiming at expanding its presence in key markets globally. The country has long been an important bridge between East and West, and Banque SYZ sees this not only as an opportunity to be closer to its clients in the region but also to gain a better understanding of the market conditions and investment opportunities in Turkey.

“Switzerland ranks among Turkey’s most important investors and we felt that there was an opportunity to build on this relationship further”, said Nicolas Syz, Head of SYZ Private Banking. “We are entrepreneurs at heart and share many similar values with Turkish investors. We hope to be able to create synergies between these entrepreneurs, local companies and our broader international network”.

Idil Parman, Head of Representative Office Turkey added, “the country lies conveniently between Europe, the near East and central Asia, and holds good relationships with the Middle East, which is another important market for us. We are interested in the evolution of this region and believe that having a local presence will allow us to be closer to Turkey’s pulse”.

Banque SYZ has offices in Switzerland (Geneva, Lugano, Locarno and Zurich) as well as Representative Offices in South Africa, Turkey and in the US. Banque SYZ reported a net profit of CHF 7.1 million for 2019, thanks to the performance and growth of its private banking business and external asset management activity. positioning its discretionary and advisory portfolios in the first quartile of their peer groups for USD, CHF and EUR portfolios.

About SYZ Group Founded in 1996 in Geneva

SYZ is a Swiss banking group focusing exclusively on asset management via three complementary business lines: private banking, institutional asset management and alternative investments. SYZ offers private and institutional investors an investment style based on active management and risk management aimed at absolute performance. The Group has substantial equity and enjoys its status as an independent company due to its family shareholding structure. www.syzgroup.com”

Global gaming giant Zynga announced today that it had agreed to buy the Turkish mobile game developing company Peak for USD 1.8 billion (TL 12.3 billion) in what will be the FarmVille maker's biggest-ever acquisition to date. With this acquisition,  Zynga will add Peak’s popular puzzle video games Toy Blast and Toon Blast to its portfolio and is thereby expected to increase its daily average users by more than 60%. These two games are two of the most popular mobile puzzle games with more than 200 million and 100 million downloads to date, respectively, and have consistently ranked in the top 20 grossing games on App Store in the US over the last two years. Zynga expects the acquisition to bolster its average mobile daily active users by more than 60%, with Peak's two games collectively averaging 12 million daily users.

Frank Gibeau, chief executive officer of San Francisco based Zynga said that “With the addition of Toon Blast and Toy Blast, we are expanding our live services portfolio to eight forever franchises, meaningfully increasing our global audience base and adding to our exciting new game pipeline”, and “Peak is one of the world’s best puzzle game makers, and we could not be more excited to add such creative and passionate talent to our company.”  Gibeau also said that Peak will also help Zynga to enhance its new game pipeline with additional projects in early development.

The deal will comprise USD 900 million in cash and USD 900 million in stock and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. The gaming giant will pay Peak’s owners 114 million shares priced at USD 7.92, the volume-weighted average closing price per share over the 30-day trading period. Shares of the company were up 6.2% at USD 9.72 in trading before closing. This is Zynga’s biggest acquisition to date, followed by its purchase of the majority state of Finland’s Small Giant Games for USD 560 million in 2018 and its purchase of Istanbul-based mobile gaming company Gram Games for USD 250 million in 2018.

The deal comes as Zynga experiences a financial boost thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it had experienced its best first quarter earnings in its history at the end of March, reporting that revenue was up 52% year on year to USD 404 million. The firm raised its full-year 2020 revenue forecast to USD 1.7 billion.

Peak was founded by Sidar Şahin in 2010 with the support of venture capital firms Endeavor Catalyst, Earlybird Venture Capital and Hummingbird Ventures. With the deal, Peak's 100-strong team and its portfolio of mobile game franchises will join Zynga. Zynga management first met Peak’s co-founder and CEO Sidar Sahin in 2017, when Zynga bought Peak’s casual card business for USD 100 million. This business included games such as Spades Plus, Gin Rummy Plus and 101 Okey Plus.

Roland Manger, co-founder and partner of Earlybird Venture Capital, one of Peak’s backers, said that “Peak is an amazing founder success story ‘Made in Istanbul’ and the first Turkish unicorn exit.” Pamir Gelenbe, a partner at Hummingbird Ventures, said that “the Peak team proved that we can produce tech unicorns in Turkey and this is a great milestone for the local ecosystem,” and that the seed investors will receive a return of more than 200 times their initial investment. This is the first time that a Turkish start-up company has been sold for more than USD 1 billion, thereby earning it the title of unicorn. Previously, China’s e-commerce Alibaba had purchased Turkey’s Trendyol for USD 728 million, and German delivery firm Hero had purchased Turkey’s Yemeksepeti for 589 million in 2015. 

Great interest in the purchase of Peak has been shown by the Turkish government which is struggling with an economic recession in Turkey, and needs all the moral support it can get. The purchase will also help meet the government’s need for foreign currency at a time of great stress with the coronavirus pandemic adversely affecting exports and shutting down the tourism sector this year.

Japanese Hamax company is to manufacture wind energy equipment in Izmir through the Hamax Europe company it established with its Turkish partner Ateş Çelik. The joint venture Hamax Europe will allow the expansion of the Japanese firm's business to Turkey and Europe. Hamax Europe will commence operations in January next year and start production in April, producing high-tension fasteners and bolts for wind turbines.

The factory, which will be located in the Kemalpaşa district of İzmir almost 29 kilometres from the city centre, will be the second of the Japanese company outside Japan, after it established its first overseas factory in Texas USA almost 15 years ago. The Japanese firm already has five factories in its home country.

Hamax CEO Kohhei Hamada, in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), said that the company was established over 90 years ago in Nagasaki, Japan. He stated that because the wind energy market in japan was small, there was a need for his company to focus on overseas markets. It was for this reason that the company had opened a factory in Texas for the American market and now in Turkey for the European market. Hamada emphasised that İzmir was a port of choice for this investment because not only is it similar to the company's hometown of Nagasaki but it also offers an established infrastructure that can cope with exports to Europe and internationally and provide local suppliers. Hamax provides important parts of the windmill, such as blade bolts (T-Bolt), barrel nuts (T-Nut), tower bolt & nut, stud bolt & nut for Nacelle, foundation anchor bolt, Hex cap screw, socket head cap screw, and interior tower hardware.

Ateş Çelik Managing Consultant Evren Güldoğan said their company, one of the pioneering firms in the wind energy industry, produces towers and generators for wind energy plants. Güldoğan also said that "It is very important for us to help develop the domestic industry in the wind sector in line with our government's targets, and to raise added-value that we created for our customers through providing vertical integration in line with our company's strategy," He added that this investment through Hamax Europe holds critical importance for the company in bringing Japanese technology and know-how to Turkey and in meeting local demand.

Japanese Hoshizaki Corporation, one of the world’s three largest kitchen equipment sector companies, has purchased a 28.6% stake in the Turkish  Öztiryakiler company. Application has been made to Turkey’s Competition Board for approval. The parties to the agreement are Hoshizaki Europe Holdings B.V. and Öztiryakiler Madeni Eşya Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi. 

Hoshizaki Corporation, which produces ice machines (Cubers, Flakers, Cubelet machines), ice dispensers, refrigerators and freezers, refrigerated display cases, (Sushi cases, Display showcases), food safety, and sanitation products, comprises 51 companies and employs 13,000 personnel.

Öztiryakiler was established in 1958 as one of the first manufacturing companies of Turkey in the kitchen equipments sector. Öztiryakiler now comprises 10 companies employing some 1,300 employees and operates 5 production plants totalling 149.500 m² of closed production space.
 

International water management systems company Metito has acquired majority shares in Turkish chemicals company Info Group.

Metito, with its headquarters in the Middle East, is active in 46 countries globally, has undertaken more than 3,000 projects, and currently employs around 3,000 personnel. Metito was founded some 60 years ago and is now becoming one of the leading and most dynamic global providers of water and wastewater treatment solutions. UAE based Gulf Capital, World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, and Mitsubishi are shareholders of Metito. In addition to fields of chemistry, Metito plans to make more investment in Turkey in other fields such as engineering, supply, construction and alternative energy.

Info Group Endüstriyel Da. Ve Tic. A.Ş. provides water management consulting services to prestigious companies in Turkey to ensure efficient use of their water systems.

The insurance giant Talanx Group has acquired Turkish insurance company ERGO Sigorta through its Turkish subsidiary HDI Sigorta A.Ş. The Talanx Group, with its headquarters in Hanover, Germany, was founded by a number of German industrial companies as a liability insurance cooperative in 1903. Talanx is the 3rd largest insurance group of Germany and has operations in 150 countries around the world. The major shareholder of Talanx is HDI International AG with a 79% shareholding.

Following the incorporation of ERGO, HDI Sigorta has risen from 11th to 7th place among non-life insurance companies in Turkey, as based on 2018 yearend data. HDI Sigorta had started operations in Turkey with its purchase of İhlas Sigorta, a Turkish insurance company, in 2006. In early 2018, HDI Sigorta took over Liberty Sigorta with the merger of the two companies being completed in only five months.

Germany’s global mobility provider Flixmobility GMBH, better known as Europe's leading bus operator FlixBus, has officially applied to Turkey's competition watchdog to acquire Kamil Koç, the country's second-largest bus company. FlixBus said in a statement that it had agreed on the sale with Kamil Koç's current owner private equity firm Actera Group.

FlixBus said in its statement that "The company will be gradually integrated into FlixBus' extensive network which already offers more than 350,000 daily connections to over 2,000 destinations in 28 European countries and the USA. The deal will come into effect following approval by the relevant authorities and is expected to finalize in the coming weeks."

Established in 1926, Kamil Koç is the oldest Turkish bus company still in operation. A family business, Kamil Koç strengthened its market position in the early 2000s and was sold to Actera Group in 2013 for USD 65 million. The company has a fleet of 1,100 buses, operates 861 ticketing offices in 271 districts in 61 provinces in Turkey, and employs some 8,000 people. In 2018, the company served nearly 20 million passengers. It is listed among the top 500 firms in Turkey.

FlixBus was established in 2013 after the deregulation of the bus market in Germany, where intercity travel was long dominated by state-run Deutsche Bahn trains. It soon expanded to other European countries that also carried out similar deregulation moves. The company now offers services in 30 countries, including Germany, Italy, France, the Benelux states, and Poland, where it is the market leader. FlixBus carried 45 million passengers in 2018 in Europe and in the US.

The acquisition signals a relief for Turkey's giant intercity bus market, which has lost a significant portion of its passengers to the country's booming aviation sector and developing high-speed train network over recent years. Though the Turkish bus sector has made great strides forward in terms of comfort, including free refreshments and in-car entertainment, it has suffered in recent years from deteriorating safety, logistics and service standards.  Rising fuel prices have also put a great strain on costs.

Varan and Ulusoy, two renowned companies of the Turkish bus market providing luxury services, went bankrupt in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Another prominent coach company, Pamukkale, was also declared bankrupt earlier this year. However, both Ulusoy and Pamukale have since been permitted to resume operations.

CMA CGM Group, a world leader shipping conglomerate, is to purchase Turkish Botros&Levente maritime company.

Botros & Levante Taşımacılık ve Ticaret A.Ş., which is owned by the Botros family, was established as a shipping and forwarding company in the port of Mersin, Turkey, by İskender Botros during the 1950’s. The company started by transporting cotton from the surrounding region for storage in warehouses in Mersin before being loaded on to vessels for export. Over the years, the company expanded in to all types of shipping activities, with a presence in all Turkish ports. During the years from 2013 to 2016, the company was the leading corporation and income taxpayer in Mersin.

CMA CGM Group is a gloabal maritime transport and logistics company offering shipping and cargo solutions. Present in over 160 countries through 755 agencies, 750 warehouses and 110,000 employees and a diverse fleet of 509 vessels. CMA CGM serves 420 of the world's 521 commercial ports and operates on more than 200 shipping lines, and has an annual turnover of USD 23.5 billion.

Technology investor Naspers’ global fintech firm PayU has purchased Turkish digital payments company Iyzico for USD 165 million. With the acquisition of Iyzico, Turkey will be the second largest market for PayU in Middle East, Africa and Europe after Poland. Mario Shiliashki, head of payments at PayU, said the company made the deal in line with their objectives to consolidate their position in local markets and to be the No. 1 payment provider in all the fast-growing markets in which they operate. Indeed, the deal will expand the Dutch unit’s exposure to Turkey’s e-commerce market, which is growing at more than 10% a year. According to Barbaros Ozbugutu, chief executive officer and co-founder of Iyzico, Turkey is an attractive area for payments because only a fraction of the 3 million or so small and medium-sized businesses in the country use digital payments and e-commerce infrastructure, and that high internet penetration and a young population provide a large potential for growth.

PayU has invested more than USD 500 million in the industry since 2016 as the firm positions itself to profit from rising internet adoption and e-commerce in emerging economies. Its focus on payments, one of the fastest growing areas in finance, puts the company in a position to take a share of an industry that is expected to produce USD 1 trillion in new revenue through 2027. PayU is focused on faster growing markets such as Russia, India and African countries where online payments are in their infancy. In addition to the Iyzico acquisition, its largest to date, the company has also invested in the Indian payments sector as well the Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s cryptocurrency venture.

Iyzico was founded in 2013 and has been providing payment infrastructure for more than 30,000 Turkish e-commerce sites such as sahibinden.com and for global giants operating in Turkey including Amazon.com and Nike, Inc. Iyzico’s founders will have a small, minority stake in the new combined Turkish business.

The acquisition must still be approved by regulators and is expected to close in the next few months.

True Value Capital Partners, a Swiss based equity capital investment company, on May 30th, 2019, has purchased Sabancı Group’s Temsa Ulaşım Araçları San.ve Tic.A.Ş.company for TL 182.7 million. Temsa was nominally valued at TL 825 million (USD 140 million). The sale was made however based on a value of TL 375 million after adjusting for debt and cash holdings, and includes the 49% stake owned by Sabancı Holding and the remaining 51% owned by shareholders including the Sabancı family, which owns the holding company.

The Temsa plant in Adana, Turkey has an annual production capacity of 11,500 vehicles, including 4,000 buses, coaches and midi-buses and 7,500 light trucks. Temsa has exported over 15,000 vehicles to 66 countries to date. With a total of 5,000 buses and coaches in France alone, Temsa's presence in Europe spans important markets that include Germany, the U.K., Italy, Austria, Sweden, Lithuania and the Benelux countries. Temsa has over 1,100 branded vehicles on North American roads and it aims to increase its current market share of nearly 10% in coaches through Temsa North America.  

The sale comes during a difficult period for Turkish manufacturers, who have suffered due to a rise in costs driven by the steep decline of the lira since the beginning of 2018. The lira dropped by 39% against the dollar that year, and it has been subject to large fluctuations this year.

German United Initiators is to purchase Hidrojen Peroxit A.Ş., a manufacturer of peroxide with its factory in Balıkesir, in the north-western province of Bandırma. Hidrojen Peroxit is a Garipoğlu Group company, owned by the once famous businessman Hayyam Garipoğlu, and was founded in 2001, with Eti Maden having a 28.2% shareholding and Garipoğlu Group a 71.8% shareholding. Last year, Garipoğlu purchased Eti Maden’s shareholding and thereby became the sole owner of the company. The factory has a 40,000 ton production capacity, is the world’s 8th largest peroxide manufacturer and exports to more than 70 countries.

German United Initiators is a global and leading producer of peroxide-based initiators and specialty chemicals and offers a broad range of organic peroxides, persulfates and selected speciality chemicals. The company has several production facilities in Europe, North America and the Asia‐Pacific region.

Nippon Paint, a paint and coatings specialist, has over 22,000 employees with 77 manufacturing facilities and operations in 16 geographical locations with its headquarters in Singapore.

GS Yuasa’s joint venture with Turkish İnci Holding, İnci GS Yuasa, has opened its third factory in Manisa, Turkey with an investment of some TL 120 million, which brings the joint venture’s total investment to TL 250 million over its four years of partnership. This latest investment has increased the joint venture’s closed manufacturing area by 18,000 sqm to 47,000 sqm and its automotive battery manufacturing capacity from 5 to 7 million pieces annually. The new factory was founded in September 2017 and was built on 98,000 sqm of land.

The opening ceremony of the new factory at the Manisa Organized Industrial Zone was attended by Turkey’s Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Manisa Governor Ahmet Deniz, İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, Japanese Ambassador for Turkey Akio Miyajima, the Japanese İstanbul Consul General Hisao Nishimaki, as well as a number of other Japanese and Turkish officials and businesspeople.

İnci GS Yuasa exports around 60% of the batteries produced in Turkey to more than 80 countries in 6 continents, and produces advanced technology start/stop vehicle batteries as well as new generation batteries at the highest quality standards for automotive key industry suppliers.  

The joint venture’s Japanese partner GS Yuasa is a major world manufacturer of batteries. Its business currently includes batteries, power supply systems, lighting equipment, and other electrical devices. GS Yuasa is aware that in addition to the usage of energy, energy storage technologies have become increasingly diversified, and that there is a great need to develop new products, such as photovoltaic power and lithium-ion batteries, that can be utilised in the new energy fields.

The battery manufacturing and flagship company of İnci Holding, the Turkish partner in the joint venture, is İnci Akü A.Ş., which was established by its founder Cevdet İnci in 1984 in the Manisa Organized Industrial Zone. İnci Akü started to work closely with the Turkish automotive sector in 1985, producing a calcium (Ca) battery alloy lead in 2007, and the NanoGold, nano technology closed system battery in 2009. The company also established its R&D centre in 2009, a first for the battery sector. With its amalgamation with the Japanese battery giant GS Yuasa, the company’s name was changed to İnci GS Yuasa Akü Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.

US power management company Eaton Corporation has purchased an 82.275% stake in switchgear maker Ulusoy Elektrik of Ankara, Turkey.  Shares purchased belonged to Sait Ulusoy, Kubilay Hakki Ulusoy, Enis Ulusoy and Akgul Ulusoy, all members of the Turkish company's founding Ulusoy family. The purchase price for the shares is roughly USD 214 million, on a cash and debt-free basis. Eaton plans to file an application to launch a tender offer for the remaining shares.

Ulusoy Elektrik, founded in 1985, has about 780 employees and operates manufacturing facilities in Turkey and Indonesia. The company's products include medium-voltage switchgear, medium-voltage distribution transformers, substation kiosks and medium-voltage cable connection systems. Revathi Advaithi, president and chief operating officer for Eaton's electrical sector, said in a statement that the acquisition of Ulusoy Elektrik "complements Eaton's IEC portfolio and strengthens our ability to provide tailored medium-voltage solutions that span the full range of requirements. In addition, it adds a competitive, high-capability manufacturing base and provides us with additional access to the medium-voltage market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa."

Eaton Corporation , which is based in Dublin, Ireland, and has its North American headquarters in Beachwood, posted sales of USD 21.6 billion in 2018, has about 99,000 employees worldwide, and sells its products in more than 175 countries.

Japanese automotive manufacturer giant Honda has today issued a formal written statement that it will be terminating its automobile manufacturing operations in Turkey in 2021 following the completion of the existing production of the Civic Sedan model. Honda’s intentions to close its Turkey car factory were previously announced on February 19th, 2019.

The statement, prepared in the name of Honda Turkey Chairman Takuya Tsumura, revealed that the decision was made because of developments in the electrification field in the global automotive industry and the necessity of ensuring the appropriate production capacity based on these developments. In the statement Tsumura added that :

"Having successfully maintained its automobile production activities in Turkey for 22 years, Honda Turkey is proud to have reached all of its goals in this period. Honda's impressive performance in the last few years is the most important evidence of the company's great confidence in the Turkish market. Therefore, Honda Turkey will continue to offer sales and after-sales operations beyond 2021 with high quality services that it offers to its customers. In this respect, automobile operations consisting of the import and distribution of vehicles in Turkey will continue without interruption. Honda Motorcycle operations will not be affected by this decision."

Tsumura also stated that they will provide all kinds of support, including re-employment, to employees affected by the decision. Currently, the company employs approximately 1,100 people.

As of April 1st 2019, Facebook will now 18% charge value-added tax (VAT) on all advertising services provided to Turkish-based advertisers, including those without a valid Turkish value-added tax (VAT) identification number. 

Due to a recent change in Turkish tax law, Facebook Ireland Ltd is now registered for VAT as a non-established entity in Turkey.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been become increasingly involved in Turkey in recent years. The following is an entry on its website on February 18th, 2019 :

“The Bank is a leading institutional investor in Turkey and has invested over €11 billion in 283 projects in Turkey since 2009, with a focus on investment in sustainable energy, improving infrastructure, strengthening the competitiveness of the private sector, deepening capital and local currency markets, and promoting regional and youth inclusion and gender equality. The overwhelming majority of EBRD investments in Turkey are in the private sector. Last year alone the EBRD invested over €1 billion in Turkey, of which one-third - €331 million – was extended in local currency.”

On March 27th, 2019, EBRD made an announcement that it would steadily increase its lending over the next three years, despite the fact that its 2018 profits had more than halved to Euros 340 million from Euros 772 million in 2017. The bank, which invests in 38 economies from Morocco to Mongolia, stated that the fall in profits was due to “adverse conditions across equity markets and currency depreciations in a number of the emerging economies where the EBRD is active." It added that "Provisioning charges rose on the back of developments in Turkey, where the economy slowed sharply amid a significant currency decline."

On April 4th, 2019, Arvid Tuerkner, the EBRD managing director for Turkey, announced that the bank, if asked, was ready to help Turkey tackle the growing level of unpaid and problem loans in its banking sector. EBRD is clearly aware that non-performing bank loans are likely to remain at high levels as the Turkish economy remains blighted by recession, a weak lira and depleted foreign currency reserves.

It is not clear how EBRD will help, but we must assume that it will increase its investment in Hayat Varlık, a former Lehman Brothers subsidiary and leading non-performing loan purchasing and collection company in Turkey. EBRD is a 12% shareholder in Hayat Varlık and on February 18th, 2019, lent Varlık TL 100 million to help the NPL management company buy more NPLs from local banks and other financial institutions EBRD had previously invested a total of TL 76 million in seven issuances of bonds issued by the company. The Bank had also provided the company with TL 120 million in loans, half of which it had syndicated to ICBC Turkey.  

The Turkish banking sector, often considered a key anchor of the country’s economy, is under stress following the lira’s depreciation and a sharp slowdown of the economy. EBRD is aware that an increase in NPLs can affect banks’ cost of funding, profitability, and may impair their capacity to lend to the real economy. The bank believes that boosting Hayat Varlik’s ability to acquire and manage NPLs will help clean up the banks’ balance sheets and free up their capacity for new lending. It will also contribute to a strong and efficient NPLs market in the country.

The announcement by EBRD on April 4th offering to help relieve the pressure on Turkish banks was partially responsible for a small recovery in the Turkish lira and the stock market that day. This was accepted as positive news, but there is little EBRD can do in fact in face of the magnitude of the potential loan problem in Turkey. It cannot be expected to directly bail out companies which will inevitably go bankrupt. The bank will no doubt simply help buy out NPL’s from the banking system. These will be at knock down prices on which it intends to make a profit.  

British engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc has announced that it had curtailed efforts to join a Turkish program to build a new fifth-generation fighter jet with Turkey's Kale Group.

The British company said that talks with Kale ran into problems last year because of a dispute about the sharing of intellectual property and the involvement of a Qatari-Turkish company.

In 2017, Kale Group said it would set up a joint venture with Rolls-Royce to develop aircraft engines after the UK and Turkey had signed a defence deal worth more than Psd Stg 100 million (USD133 million) to develop Turkish fighter jets. Rolls-Royce has been in talks with the Turkish government for several years about the project in which it would share expertise and intellectual property rights with the Turkish partners.

One of Israel’s largest banks Bank Hapoalim has announced that it is looking to sell its 70% majority stake holding in Bank Pozitif, a Turkish investment bank.

Bank Hipoalim had declared its intention to sell its shareholding some 4 years ago, but no agreement was achieved at that time.

International tourism conglomerate TUI has started negotiations to purchase Turkey’s Doğuş Group’s D-Resort Grand Azur Hotel in Marmaris, on Turkey’s Aegean coast through its Turkish company TT Hotels.

TT Hotels owns and runs some 14 hotels in Turkey. These are Pegaso World Hotel (Manavgat), TUI Familiy Life Pascha Bay Hotel (Alanya), TUI Fun & Sun Club Belek Hotel (Belek), TUI Day & Night Connected Club Hydros Hotel (Kemer), TUI Magic Life Waterworld Hotel (Belek), Pegasos Club Hotel (Alanya), Pegasos Resort Hotel (Alanya), Pegasos Royal Hotel (Alanya), Hotel TUI Sensimar Seno Resort & Spa (Dalaman), Bodrum Imperial Hotel (Bodrum), Holiday Village Turkey Hotel (Dalaman), TUI BLUE Marmaris (Marmaris), Hotel TUI Family Life Tropical Resort (Dalaman) and TUI Magic Life Sarıgerme Hotel (Dalaman).   

Turkish conglomerate Yıldız Holding has agreed to sell its Godiva chocolatier business in four far eastern countries to MBK Partners, which is an Asian private equity company. The four countries concerned are Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. As part of this agreement, Yıldız will also be selling the Godiva factory in Brussels, Belgium which produces for and supplies these four countries. It would appear that Yıldız Holding’s financial debts have forced the conglomerate’s hand to sell investments. On the other hand, the Godiva chocolate business is seen as a profitable and expanding business and Yıldız holding may be trying to cash in on the added value of the business since its purchase towards the end of 2007.

Japanese carmaker giant Honda has announced that it will cease the production of Civic Sedan model vehicles in Turkey in 2021. Honda has a plant in the north-western province of Kocaeli, near Istanbul, where the company started to produce its Civic Sedan models at the end of 1997. This plant has an annual production capacity of 50,000 units, but currently produces some 38,000 units per year and employs some 1,100 people.

Honda announced that this decision was taken as a part of its plan to restructure its global manufacturing network, but that it would continue with its automotive operations in Turkey. The company has at the same time decided to close it UK plant in Swindon in 2021 which produces some 150,000 cars per year with a workforce of some 3,500 people.

Austrian RHI Magnesita NV company, a global leader in refractories, has signed an exclusivity agreement with Turkish conglomerate Yıldız Holding as part of negotiations for its purchase of Kümaş Manyesit Sanayi A.Ş. A figure of USD 500 million as a possible purchase price has been mentioned. 

Kümas Manyesit produces and supplies to the industrial minerals market sinter magnesia, fused magnesia, fused oxychrom and calcined magnesia, which are derived from high quality macro-crystalline natural magnesite ore which it mines itself. Kümaş Manyesit also produces magnesia, dolomite and alumina based refractory brick and mortars in its integrated refractory plant. The company’s annual production capacity is 300,000 tons of sinter magnesia, 120,000 tons of bricks, and 60,000 tons of mortar. Reserves are 127 million tons of magnesia and 112 million tons of dolomite.

Japanese automotive giant Toyota marked the commencement of its new Corolla hybrid model’s mass production at its Sakarya plant in Turkey at a ceremony honoured by the Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Investment Office (ISPAT) President Arda Ermut, Toyota Turkey CEO and General Manager Toshihiko Kudo, and Toyota Motor Europe President and CEO Dr. Johan van Zyl. 

During his address at the opening ceremony, Vice President Fuat Oktay said that Turkey is determined to boost the production of hybrid and electric vehicles since it is vital for Turkey to develop low-consumption, environmentally friendly auto technologies. “The support packages includes land allocations and considerable tax reductions of up to 50% for hybrid vehicles, among other incentives, and we are prepared to introduce new incentives when necessary.” He added that the use of hybrid and electric cars in Turkey was at a very early stage with only 4,000 hybrid cars and 155 electric cars sold in Turkey last year, compared to total automobile sales of 486,000..

Johan van Zyl, the CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said the company had produced more than 2.4 million cars since it started production in Turkey, and so far invested over Euros 1.8 billion in its production operations in Turkey. He noted that Toyota had started producing its first Turkish-made seventh-generation Corollas in 1994, had launched its first hybrid vehicle, the C-HR, a sport utility vehicle (SUV), in Turkey in October 2016, and was now launching first time globally the 2019 Corolla Saloon Hybrid, the model's 12th generation.

In 2018, sales of cars and light commercial vehicles in Turkey were 620,937 units, 35.1% lower than the figure for the previous year. Sales of cars decreased 32.7% to 486,321 units, and sales of light commercial vehicles decreased 42.3% to 134,616 units.

Prometeon, one of the top industrial tyre manufacturers in the world, has announced its plan to invest USD 115 million in its plant in Turkey. This investment will be implemented until 2020, by which time the annual tyre production capacity at the Turkish plant will have increased by 75% and exports to foreign markets would have almost doubled, providing a significant contribution to Turkey trade balance.

The investment announcement was given by Prometeon’s Chief Operating Officer Gregorio Borgo at a press briefing in Istanbul on November 6th, 2018. Borgo said that “Almost one third of Prometeon Tyre Group’s annual turnover is realised in the region managed by our Turkey office and more than 50% of the tyres that we manufacture in Turkey are exported.” Turkey is the management base of the group’s offices in 75 countries in the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia region.

Prometeon has a production plant in Turkey’s north-western province of Kocaeli which has been operating under the name of the well-known Pirelli brand name since 1960. This plant currently has an annual capacity of 1 million units and exports tyres with a value of USD 125 million. The company’s additional investment in Turkey is expected to add 150 to the current total workforce of 2,000 employees.

Prometeon has 4 factories (two in Brazil, one in Egypt and one in Turkey), employs over 7,300 people and has a commercial presence in over 160 countries. TP Industrial Holding is the controlling company of Prometeon Tyre Group, and is in turn 100% controlled by Marco Polo International Holding Italy Spa, the company formed for the partnership between CNRC (with 65%), Camfin (with 22.4%) and Long-Term Investments Luxemburg (with 12.6%)%), which also owns Pirelli. CNRC is the tyre and rubber subsidiary of ChemChina Group.

Taiwan Cement Company (TCC), one of the Far East’s largest cement manufacturers, has purchased a 40% stake in OYAK Çimento A.Ş., which was a 100% affiliate of Turkey’s OYAK Holding. The purchase price was USD 640 million, 40% of the company’s worth of USD 1.6 billion.

TCC was founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 1946 and privatised in 1954. TCC engages in the production and marketing of cement, cement products, furnace powder and ready-mixed concrete. Its products are used in general engineering and construction projects such as dams, road repair works, tunnels, bridges, sewers, and offshore construction works. The Koo family which controls TCC, has investments in the tourism, health, energy and chemical sectors. TCC recorded revenues of USD 3.2 billion in 2017. With a total of 23 factories and a total of 76 million tons of cement production capacity (Taiwan 11 million tons and China 65 million tons), the company is one of China’s largest cement manufacturers.

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) today opened its giant new oil refinery in the Aliağa district of İzmir, Turkey. The new Star Refinery, built at a cost of some USD 6.3 billion, is the first new oil refinery to be built in Turkey in 30 years and will, by boosting Turkish refining capacity by over 30%,  help cut Turkey’s dependence on imported refined oil products.

In an opening ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Azeri counterpart President Ilham Aliyev, Erdoğan said that the new refinery “will take brotherly strategic ties to the next level” between the two countries, adding that the “refinery will enable Turkey to make USD 1.5 billion in savings in its import bill on an annual basis” and that more than 1,100 jobs will be created at the refinery.

The Star Refinery is located in the industrial zone of Aliağa, Izmir, where the Tüpraş oil refinery, a container port, and the petro-chemical plant of Petkim, a company in which SOCAR also has a large stake, are located. The refinery, which started construction in 2011, when fully operational, will have the capacity to process about 10 million tons per year (200,000 barrels per day) of crude, thereby increasing Turkey’s total refining capacity by over 30% to reach 40 million tons per year.

The refinery is expected to produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha and 420,000 tons of xylenes. It will produce about 4.8 million tons of diesel, as well as jet fuel, petroleum coke, reformate, sulphur and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Timed to coincide with the opening of the refinery, a presidential decree was issued which announced that the refinery had been classified as the first special industrial zone in Turkey,

At a ground-breaking ceremony on October 19th, 2018, the Turkish-French joint venture automotive manufacturer Oyak-Renault laid the foundation for its new high-pressure aluminium injection moulding plant in Turkey’s province of Bursa. At the plant, which will be built at a cost of Euros 100 million (USD 115 million), aluminium blocks will be produced for the company’s high-tech new generation engines for hybrid vehicles.

The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Turkey’s Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank who announced that the plant investment was to be made under Turkey’s project-based incentive system. He stated that the engines would be exported, thereby not only contributing to employment but also helping to improve Turkey’s trade balance, and that parts for the engines will be produced and supplied by domestic manufacturers. The ceremony was also attended by Renault Senior VP and Chairman of Groupe Renault Eurasian Region Nicolas Maure.

Oyak-Renault, founded in 1969, annually produces 360,000 cars and 750,000 engines, and some automotive parts.

WABCO, a leading global supplier of vehicle control systems which improve the safety, efficiency, and connectivity of commercial services, launched its first distribution centre with an investment of around USD 17 million in Hadımköy, Istanbul. At the opening ceremony, Invest in Turkey President Arda Ermut expressed his wish that WABCO, emboldened by its new logistics centre investment in Turkey, will in the future consider investing in production facilities in Turkey.,

WABCO, which has its global headquarters in Brussels Belgium, recorded USD 3.3 billion in sales in 2017, employs 15,000 people in 40 countries, and has manufacturing locations in 4 continents.  

Dutch port terminals operator APM Terminals, which is a subsidiary of the Danish A.P.Moller-Maersk A/S corporation, has decided to leave Turkey. APM Terminals won the contract in 2012 to operate for 28 years the Petlim port terminal, which is located in Aliağa. Izmir and is owned by Petkim. APM Terminals is one of the world’s largest terminal operators, operating terminals in 50 countries around the world and employing some 22,000 people.

APM Terminals has agreed to sell its Petlim franchise to the Azerbaijan state energy company Socar.

Petlim Limancilik Ticaret A.S was founded on November 22nd, 2010 as a 100% subsidiary of Petkim to carry out the development of Petlim Port. The aim was to operate the port more  economically and make it the largest integrated port of the Aegean region. The port has a capacity of 1.5 million TEU, and has a total of 48 hectares of logistics space, 6 hectares of which is for support services and 42 of which is for container storage.

Lohmann, a leading international supplier of adhesive solution providers,  opened its first Turkish manufacturing facility in the Gebze Plastikçiler Organized Industrial Zone., near Istanbul. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Lohmann CEO Elmar Boeke said that the company will benefit from Turkey’s strategic location as a regional centre and an export hub. The company has been operational in Turkey with a sales office since 2011.

In Lohmann’s website, the following entry was given regarding its new investment in Gebze, near Istanbul :

“Lohmann opens new production plant in Turkey

Lohmann, pioneer in adhesive bonding, today offers adhesive high-tech solutions around the globe.

On October 8th, Lohmann´s new production site in Gebze (province of Kocaeli), on the outskirts of Istanbul, was inaugurated with many guests.In February 2011 Lohmann opened a sales office in Istanbul. Seven years later, it proves to have been the right decision: Lohmann has built a new production site. On approx. 3.100m², different state-of-the-art converting machines now produce adhesive high-end products primarily for the local customers. Altogether, the team in Turkey successfully developed customer relationships, expanded business with existing customers and attracted new ones in the home appliance, furniture, profile manufacturing and automotive sectors. Long-term Lohmann distribution-partner "Matis Matbaa" in Izmir is also in the loop. Together with the Lohmann team they have successfully developed the market in the graphics sector, which is a focus market for Lohmann. With this new presence in Turkey, Lohmann is able to provide better service directly to local customers. Furthermore, the company wants to expand alongside other international companies who are using Turkey’s strategically strong position as hub for the Middle East.”

Lohmann, with its headquarters in Neuwied Germany, employs 1,600 people worldwide, has 29 international sites and exclusive partners in over 60 countries.

Negotiations with the Chinese investor group for the sale of its stake have gathered pace in recent weeks and Astaldi hopes to have an agreement by the end of the year. Astaldi, Italy’s second-largest construction company, is relying on cash from the deal to help meet its liquidity needs and repay debt. It was forced to file for credit protection on debts of Euros 2.5 billion euros (USD 2.9 billion) to the bianco concordato court in Rome on September 28th, 2018. The company must present a new payment plan to its debtors by December 16th, 2018. Astaldi’s share value fell more than 50% from Euros 1.30 in the middle of September to Euros 0.60 as of October 1st, 2018

The total equity value of the Third Bosphorus Bridge was previously shown as much as USD 1.4 billion. Astaldi’s local partner IC Yatırım Holding may also be interested in selling part of its stake. Astaldi values its stake at about Euros 350 million.

International coffee and tea retailer Jacobs has purchased Of Çaysan Tarım Ürünleri Entegre Tesisleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.

Of Çaysan started operations in 1985, and comprises 5 tea factories and 2 packaging facilities.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts is an international corporation with a coffee and tea portfolio which goes back more than 265 years and is available in over 140 countries around the world through iconic household names including Jacobs, Tassimo, Moccona, Senseo, L’OR, Douwe Egberts, Super, Kenco, Pilao & Gevalia. Jacobs is one of its billion-dollar brands and traces its beginnings to 1895 in Germany, which was when 26-year-old Johan Jacobs opened a speciality coffee shop in Bremen. Jacobs coffee is now sold throughout Europe and the Middle East, and is a market leader in Germany, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.  Available in roast and ground, whole beans, soluble crystals, capsules, coffee pods and flavoured mixes, Jacobs continues to set the industry standard for delicious coffee. Jacobs Douwe Egberts is in turn majority owned by Acorn Holdings, a subsidiary of JAB Holding Company which is a privately held German conglomerate, headquartered in Luxembourg, that includes investments of companies operating in the areas of consumer goods, forestry, coffee, luxury fashion, and fast food, among others.

Jacobs is represented in Turkey by Jacobs Douwe Egberts TR Gıda Ticaret Sanayi A.Ş., which is now awaiting approval of the purchase by Turkey’s Competition Authority.

Swiss based international heating and ventilation solutions company Zehnder has opened its new Euro 20 million facility in Turkey’s Manisa province on September 27th, 2018.

As displayed on its website, Zehnder’s company profile is as follows :

“Group Overview

Zehnder Group provides everything you need to create a comfortable and healthy indoor climate.

Zehnder Group develops, produces and markets radiators and ventilation systems.

Products and systems are sold under various popular brand names.

Zehnder Group is among the market leaders in its segments.

Its principal sales region is Europe. The Europe segment is made up of a total of 34 production, sales and management companies in 13 European countries. The largest sites are located in Germany, France, the UK and Switzerland.

In addition, Zehnder Group operates in China and North America. The China & North America segment is made up of a total of 8 production, sales and management companies in China and the USA.

Its products are manufactured in modern factories in Europe and worldwide.

Zehnder Group employs approximately 3,200 people worldwide.”

Dubai’s Emirates NBD bank is to purchase Turkish Denizbank from Russia’s Sberbank, as announced in a joint statement by NBD and Sberbank. Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank and will sell its entire 99.85% stake in Denizbank, Turkey’s fifth largest private bank. In the statement, the value of Denizbank was calculated as TL 14.6 billion (USD 3.1 billion) as of October 31st, 2017, from which date Emirates NBD will pay interest until the date of transaction transferring Denizbank to itself.

Emirates NBD was formed on October 16th 2007 from a merger in 2007 between Emirates Bank International (EBI) and the National Bank of Dubai (NBD), the second and fourth largest banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As of  June 30th 2015, total assets were AED 388.1 billion. The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and representative offices in India, China and Indonesia. Currently, more than 9,000 people, representing 70 nationalities, are employed by Emirates NBD, making it one of the largest employers in the UAE. On November 8th 2017, it opened a branch in Mumbai, India., its fifth international branch outside of its UAE network.

Turkey’s national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) announced that it would buy engines from GE Aviation to be fitted into its order of 30 new Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner planes which it confirmed on March 12th. GE’s engines to be used are its GEnx-1B74/75 model. The 787-9 Dreamliner will meet THY’s wide-body aircraft needs for long-haul flight.

THY will be adding a total of 60 wide-body aircraft to its fleet in the next six years.  Of these planes, 50 are firm purchases and the remaining 10 are optional. Six are to be delivered in 2019, 14 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 11 in 2023 and seven in 2024. A total of 30 B787-9 aircraft, of which 25 are firm and five optional, will be purchased from Boeing and a total of 30 A350-900 aircraft, of which 25 firm and five optional will be purchased from Airbus. The deal with Airbus was signed in January in Paris, during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s official visit to France. The A350s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. In September 2017, THY had announced a commitment to purchase 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing.

Turkey’s national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) announced that it would buy engines from GE Aviation to be fitted into its order of 30 new Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner planes which it confirmed on March 12th. GE’s engines to be used are its GEnx-1B74/75 model. The 787-9 Dreamliner will meet THY’s wide-body aircraft needs for long-haul flight.

THY will be adding a total of 60 wide-body aircraft to its fleet in the next six years.  Of these planes, 50 are firm purchases and the remaining 10 are optional. Six are to be delivered in 2019, 14 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 11 in 2023 and seven in 2024. A total of 30 B787-9 aircraft, of which 25 are firm and five optional, will be purchased from Boeing and a total of 30 A350-900 aircraft, of which 25 firm and five optional will be purchased from Airbus. The deal with Airbus was signed in January in Paris, during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s official visit to France. The A350s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. In September 2017, THY had announced a commitment to purchase 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing.

Maysan Mando is to produce power steering systems for the automotive sector in Turkey for the first time with an investment which will total some USD 120 million.

Maysan Mando is owned 50% by the South Korean automotive conglomerate Mando Corporation, which is a global original manufacturer and supplier to Ford, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Nissan, Kia Motors Company, Fiat, Volkswagen, BMW, Suzuki, Hyundai Motor Company and many other global automobile distributors. It has an annual profit of around USD 7 billion. Mando has three main areas of business: steering parts, brake parts, and suspension parts. It is a major supplier to Tesla's autonomous vehicles project. It was reported that the Tesla roadster American businessman Elon Musk sent to outer space also had shock absorbers made by Mando. Since sub-components of the parts required for the shock absorbers and other brake tools for the Tesla vehicle sent to Mars were produced in 24 different Mando factories, including the factory in Turkey where the shaft component of a shock absorber, there is a good chance that Maysan Mando also contributed parts to the Tesla electric car sent out into space.

In an interview given to Turkish language daily newspaper Dünya, Maysan Mando General Manager Anıl Yücetürk gave details about his company and the new investment in power steering. He said that  Maysan, which was founded in 1969, was one of the first Turkish companies to produce shock absorbers in the country. It was later named Maysan Mando in 1997, when South Korea's Mando Corporation acquired a 50% stake in the company. Exporting to more than 70 countries, Maysan Mando produces shock absorbers for the Turkish Armed Forces as well as for global automotive giants like Tofaş, Ford Otosan and Renault. Yücetürk said that the company had almost doubled its turnover through investments made over the past few years and plans to become one of Turkey's top 500 companies by posting a turnover of over TL 400 million (USD 98 million) this year.

Yücetürk said that the location of the new factory would be announced soon and that the investment was supported by incentives from the Turkish government. He added that agreements have already been signed with some local automotive companies to supply them with power steering systems, and that others were being discussed. The investment is expected to be completed by 2019 and that it will contribute USD 150 million to annual turnover. The first shipment will be made to Hyundai Assan at the end of 2019.

This investment will realise the first domestic power steering production in Turkey, with such systems currently being imported from the Czech Republic or Poland. The two main components of the power steering system are the electronic unit and the engine, and discussions are underway with suppliers to ensure domestic production of these components. Yücetürk said that according to an analysis made by the Association of Automobile Parts and Components Manufacturers (TAYSAD), 80% of the domestic automobile project will be manufactured in Turkey, and that this percentage will increase to 85% with Maysan Mando’s new investment.

DFDS, a Danish shipping and logistics company,  has agreed to buy Turkish freight shipping operator U.N. Ro-Ro from a consortium of Turkish private equity firms Actera Group and Esas Holding for Euro 950 million (USD 1.17 billion) on a debt-free basis. The transaction, which was announced on April 12th, 2018,  is expected to be closed in June 2018 after approvals from the Turkish, Austrian and German competition regulators as well as Italian authorities, in relation to the transfer of the Trieste terminal, considered a strategic asset, and operated by U.N. Ro-Ro.

U.N. Ro-Ro, with its fleet of 12 large Ro-Ro ships carrying 202,000 freight units in 2017, currently operates five freight shipping routes between Turkey and the EU, connecting the Turkish ports of Pendik, Ambarlı and Mersin with Trieste and Bari in Italy, Toulon in France and Patras in Greece, and is the operator of  the Trieste and Pendik port terminals. U.N. R0-Ro is considered a profitable organisation and had predicted revenue of Euro 240 million (USD 297 million) and an EBITDA of Euro 97 million in 2018.

The consortium of Actera and Esas Holding had acquired their 98.8% stake in U.N. Ro-Ro from private equity firm KKR & Co for an undisclosed sum in 2014. KKR & Co had paid Euro 910 million in 2007. U.N. Ro-Ro had originally been established by 48 Turkish transport companies in 1994, in the height of the armed conflict in the former republics of Yugoslavia, in order to by-pass the Balkans and reach European markets with an initial route to Italy's Trieste.

Actera is well known in Turkey for investments in such companies as Mey, a spirits manufacturer and distributor, and Kamil Koç, a coach operator. Esas Holding is best known for its ownership of Turkey’s largest private airline Pegasus.

The acquisition of U.N.Ro-Ro by DFDS will allow the latter to expand its route network to include the fast growing transport market between Turkey and the EU. DFDS, which operates mainly in the North Sea, sees important similarities between this business market and that as operated by U.N. Ro-Ro in Turkey with its port terminals handling a high number of trailer units and containers for reloading to rail transport in the ports, and with the types of goods it transports. DFDS is also familiar with the ships operated by U.N. Ro-Ro as they were all built at the Flensburg Shipyard in Germany, where DFDS has also been building modern ships of similar design.

After the announcement of the deal, shares in DFDS rose 4.5%.  DFDS also changed its financial forecast for 2018 as a consequence of the deal and DFDS now expects revenue to grow by 8% and EBITDA before special items to be between Danish crowns 3.0 and 3.2 billion. DFDS’s board has decided to terminate the company’s current share buyback program and suspend a planned dividend, and will be recommending a share issue of Danish crowns 1 billion (USD 166 million) as part of the financing structure which otherwise consists of committed term loan financing.

The Lauritzen Foundation, which holds 42 percent of DFDS’s share capital, has confirmed its intention to participate pro rata in a share issue.

DFDS announced that it expects the ratio between its net interest bearing debt and its core profit (EBITDA) to rise to around 2.5 after the deal and the share issue, and that this would be in line with its targeted ratio of between 2.0 and 3.0.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony for Turkey’s first nuclear plant at Akkuyu in Turkey’s Mersin province on the Mediterranean coast on April 3rd 2018.

Erdoğan and Putin attended the ceremony by means of video teleconference from Ankara. After speeches were delivered by the two leaders, Turkish Development Minister Lütfi Elvan pressed the button to lay the foundation of the nuclear power plant which is to be built by Russia’s Rosatom for an investment cost of some USD 20 billion in accordance with the agreement signed between the Turkish and Russian governments back in 2010.

There are however still some big obstacles to the conclusion of the agreement relating to the power plant. Permissions required for the project to go ahead and identification of a new Turkish partner for Russian Rosatom have not yet been finalised.  Rosatom holds a majority share in the plant with 51%, and the remaining 49% stake was originally planned to be divided between a Turkish consortium made up of three contractors under the name Cengiz-Kolin-Kalyon (CKK). However, Kolin and Kalyon recently decided to pull out of the project, claiming that they were unable to come to an agreement on commercial terms. Rosatom has stated that it is now engaged in talks with the Turkish state electricity producer EÜAŞ as a new shareholder in the project.

The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) granted the country’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), a construction license on Monday April 2nd which would allow it to build a unit of the plant.

The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is planned to have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts with four units of 1,200 megawatts each, and a working life of 8,000 hours per year. In the first phase of the construction, two units with a capacity of 2,400 megawatts are planned. The first reactor is expected to become operational by 2023, while the plant is expected to be up and running at full capacity by 2025. The Akkuyu NPP will produce 35 billion kilowatts of electricity at full capacity, which will meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.

German engineering international conglomerate ThyssenKrupp is the main contractor in the project to construct six 214 type submarines for the Turkish navy. The project was signed in 2009 between the Turkish government and the German contractor and was originally intended to be completed within ten years. Construction was to be done at the Gölçük Shipbuilding yard near Bursa in the north-western region of Turkey using local resources and assistance. The sub-contractors are prominent Turkish defence companies, including Aselsan, Havelsan, Ayesaş, Milsoft, Koç and STM.

The first submarine TCG Piri Reis was started in 2015. The third submarine Murat Reis’s inaugural welding ceremony was attended today by the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. There have been significant delays in the construction progress and Yıldırım requested that the process be speeded up.

Turkey has in recent years been pushing very hard to develop its own indigenous defence industry. The completion of this project will mean that an important step has been taken in this direction. The Turkish navy needs to bolster its presence and operations in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean especially. Tensions with Greece over territorial claims in the Aegean islands and the on-going stand-off with Greek southern Cyprus requires more patrolling and response capability. Other areas also requiring supervision and monitoring by the Turkish navy are the Black Sea with which Turkey has a long coastline, the international shipping lanes which pass through the Çanakklae straits, the Marmara Sea and the Istanbul Bosphorus straits.

IFM Investors, an Australian global investment managing fund, has purchased a 40% stake in the Mersin port on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey from Turkey’s Akfen Holding. The value of the investment was USD 869 million.

Akfen’s share was reduced to 10%. Akfen had previously invested USD 1.2 billion in the Mersin Port with its partner Singapore’s PSA International in 2007 when they bought the operational rights from Turkey’s privatisation authority for USD 755 million for a 36 year period.

Kühne-Nagel, a Swiss-based German company, one of the largest logistics companies in the world, has made an official application to the Turkish authorities to purchase Zet Farma, a Turkish logistics company.

Founded in 1992, Zet Frama has approximately 400 employees and sizx warehouses in Istanbul, and is especially strong in the Pharmaceutical sector, with customers such as Abdi Ibrahim and Mustafa Nevzat.  

Kühne-Nagel was founded in Bremen in 1890, and is one of Germany’s oldest logistic companies.With Its headquarters in Switzerland, the company has over 70,000 employees and 1,200 offices in more than 100 countries around the world. Listed as one of the largest companies in the world in maritime transport, the company also has a strong position in air and land transport activities.

Turkey’s Competition Authority approves Migros’s acquisition of Tesco Kipa. Turkey’s Competition Authority has approved Migros Ticaret A.Ş.’s acquisition of 95.5% of the shares of Tesco Kipa. The agreement had been signed in June 2016. 

As a result of the share transfer, Migros will acquire a net sales area of approximately 320,000 square meters in assets, including 26 shopping malls, 48 hypermarkets, 48 supermarkets and 72 express stores from Kipa, which is active mainly in the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean regions. 

The share transfer is planned for March 1, 2017. 
 

A joint venture between BRF S.A. (a Brazilian food processor) with 60 % and Qatar Investment Authority with 40 % will take a 79.5 % stake of Turkish poultry producer Banvit’s total paid capital. The deal covers the full purchase of Banvit’s shares, the remaining portion of which will be offered to tender in due course. The value of Banvit was established at USD 470 million. 

Banvit, operational since 1968, is the biggest poultry company in Turkey in terms of sales and is listed on Borsa Istanbul stock exchange. Banvit is a pioneer food company with fully integrated production facilities, and is sensitive to public health and the environment. 

BRF is one of the world’s largest food companies, with more than 30 brands which include Sadia, Perdigão, Qualy, Paty, Dánica, Bocatti and Confidence. Its products are marketed in more than 150 countries on five continents. BRF employs more than 105,000 employees, has production units in seven countries (Argentina, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Holland, Malaysia, UK, and Thailand) and exports to over 150 countries.

BRF’s purchase of Banvit is part of the group’s strategy to move into the helal market. Banvit will Integrate into OneFoods, a BRF subsidiary dedicated to helal food. 

Hitachi has announced that it is to acquire a 75 % stake in Kurt & Kurt, a Turkish healthcare company. Through this acquisition, Hitachi will gain a platform which will enable it to strengthen its operation services for hospital imaging centres to help it expand its global business in this field. The new subsidiary in Turkey is its fifth strategic centre. Kurt & Kurt, established in 1977, has been acting as a distributor for a wide range of Hitachi products, including its diagnostic systems, for over 30 years.

Vodofone Turkey has announced a 17.5 % increase in its revenues from services during the first half of its 2016-2017 financial year compared to the same period last year. Revenues were TL 4 billion (USD 1.23 billion) in the six month period April – September 2016. Profits before interest, tax and depreciation were TL 1.1 billion (USD 338 million), an increase of 30 % on the same period for the previous year. The mobile operator has maintained double-digit growth for the last seven years, and has recently benefitted from the introduction of 4.4G in April 2016.

Tesco’s Turkish subsidiary Tesco Kipa sold to Migros. Tesco’s subsidiary in Turkey, Tesco Kipa, has been sold to its rival supermarket chain Migros for TL 302.3 million (USD 104.2 million), Migros purchased 95.5% of Tesco Kipa’s shares.

Tesco Kipa has 173 Kipa stores in Turkey and recorded a TL 574 million loss for the 2014-2015 financial year.

After the sale was announced, Tesco Kipa’s shares fell 19% on Borsa, the Istanbul stock Market, whereas Migros’s shares increased 6% in the morning session.  

Tesco has been determined to sell its Turkish subsidiary for some time. It had failed to adapt to the Turkish market, always trying to impose its own system. Large shopping centre malls became common place in every city, but Tesco never wanted to take part in this conecpt. It prefered to open its own large supermarkets in cities around Turkey. Supermarkets, whether in AVM’s or independent, are a very competitive sector. No one can afford to make bad strategic decisions. 

Tesco has had very bad experiences in many of its investments overseas. It made costly exits from Japan and the United States, and has had to reduce its exposure in China. Last year, Tesco sold its South Korea business for USD 6.1 billion, and the ompany now only has investments left in Thailand, Malaysia, Central Europe and Ireland.

The low price obtained from Migros for its Turkish subsidiary reflects Tesco’s desperation to exit the Turkish market. Indeed, the sale will yield Tesco proceeds of only USD 43.4 million (PSD STG 30 million), a veritable discount for an unprofitable company, calculated as some 5% of its market value. 

The sale of Tesco Kipa still needs to be approved by Turkey’s Competition Authority.