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price, it agreed to pay €260mn euros in break fees and local taxes. Also under the terms of the deal with Koc, Unicredit is limited to just one public sale over two years. The bank will hope investors will reward Unicredit with a richer valuation now that it is less exposed to the fragile Turkish economy.
HSBC has operated in Turkey since 1990. It has already downscaled its presence in Turkey from some 315 branches and around 6,000 staff in 2013 to around 80 branches and 2,000 staff as of September last year, according to data from the Banks Association of Turkey.
Volatility in the lira and Turkey’s wider economic problems have hit HSBC’s returns. It flagged rising expected loan losses in the country in its 2018 annual report. The lender previously attempted to sell its business in Turkey in 2015. Dutch lender ING was among the interested parties, but the sale never occurred. HSBC instead pursued branch closures and job cuts. That path saw it swing from losses in 2014 and 2015 to a profit of Turkish lira (TRY) 456mn ($77.02mn) in the first nine months of 2019.
On January 30​, Anadolu Group Holding said a share purchase agreement had been signed with another local conglomerate Birlesik Holding, with the transfer of Anadolu Restoran, which includes the McDonald’s Turkey franchise​, shares likely to occur in Q1 2020 after the Competition Authority approves the transaction. The equity value of Anadolu Restaurant was determined as TRY281mn ($47mn). There were 255 McDonald’s restaurants across Turkey with some 6,000 employees, serving more than 100mn customers annually. Operations from the McDonald’s chain in Turkey generated TRY768mn in revenues in 2018. Founded in 1950, Anadolu Group operates in a wide range of sectors, including beer (Efes), soft drinks (Coca-Cola), retail (Migros), agriculture, automotive (Anadolu Isuzu), stationery, quick service restaurants, real estate and energy. The holding company’s consolidated revenues amounted to TRY42bn in 2018.
Turkey’s leading glassmaking group Sisecam (SISE) is merging its Borsa Istanbul-listed subsidiaries Soda Sanayi (SODA), Anadolu Cam (ANACM), Trakya Cam (TRKCM) and Denizli Cam (DENCM) and non-listed Pasabahce​, according to stock exchange filings made by the listed companies.
Sisecam CFO Gorkem Elverici on January 31 informed investors that the group’s dividend policy would not change, according to Elverici.
Turkish conglomerate STFA Investment Holdingand Swiss Partners Group Holding have mandated Citigroup for a potential sale of Enerya, a leading natural gas distributor in Turkey​, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Founded in 2003, Enerya operates as a natural gas distributor and services provider in 11 cities across Turkey, according to information on the company’s website.
Novartis has signed an agreement to sell one of its two plants located in Gebze, near Istanbul, to Turkish drug maker Generica Ilac​. Novartis did not disclose the financial details of the deal. Generica is a relatively young player in the local pharmaceuticals market. It was founded in 2007 and released its first product in 2009.
The Generica-Novartis transaction is the second deal recorded by the Turkish pharmaceuticals industry in less than a month. At the end of January, Luxembourg-based Yamma Investments agreed to buy a 30% stake in Turkish generic drug maker Sanovel for $200mn​.
The size of the Turkish drug market reached Turkish lira (TRY) 38bn (around €6bn) as of end September 2019​, up from TRY30.9bn in 2018, according to data from the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (IEIS).
24​ TURKEY Country Report​ March 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com