Saudi boss buys 469 flats at $190 million

ISTANBUL

Renowned contractor Ali Ağaoğlu, the owner of Ağaoğlu Group, is seen. The company has sold 469 apartments worth $190 million to a Saudi businessman. DHA photo

Ağaoğlu Group, one of the highest flyers in the Turkish real estate industry, has sold 469 apartments worth $190.7 million to a businessman from Saudi Arabia in one deal.

The sale made up nearly 10 percent of the project “Maslak 1453” in Istanbul, which has a total of 4,789 apartments, according to weekly Turkish magazine Ekonomist.

The Saudi businessman will pay $190.710 million for 469 apartments found in two blocks. He has already paid a deposit worth around $10 million and will pay the remainder this week, according to the report.

“This sale is like a privatization. It is absolutely our highest figures for a sale,” said Hasan Rahvalı, General Manager at Ağaoğlu Group, stressing that this sale was “unique” in the Turkish construction sector. Rahvalı said the buyer decided to make this investment after a positive reference from two Saudi businessmen, in which they bought 60 apartments each from Ağaoğlu’s “My Europe” project last year.

However, Rahvalı declined to give the name of their Saudi customer because they were not yet allowed. He added that if Saudi businessmen agreed to it, they may organize press meetings both in Istanbul and Saudi Arabia.