Turkey’s M&A market totaled $10 billion in 2017: E&Y report

ISTANBUL - Reuters

The volume of mergers and acquisitions in Turkey amounted to $10 billion in 2017 with 251 transactions, data from an Ernst & Young report showed on Jan. 16. The report forecasted the M&A market this year would be of a similar size.

In 2017, the value of 127 disclosed mergers and acquisition transactions stood at $7.4 billion and with the addition of 124 non-disclosed transactions, the market volume totaled to $10 billion, the report said.

The transaction volume by foreign investors showed an upward trend in 2017 although it was below Turkey’s potential, a presentation of the report distributed to the media said.

Foreign investor interest in Turkey dimmed after a 2016 coup attempt, with the lira hitting record lows against the dollar and euro. Turkish markets have since rebounded and the economy grew 11.1 percent in the third quarter of 2017, supported by government measures and incentives.

“Foreign investors took part in 78 M&A transactions in 2017, with a $4.6 billion transaction volume, while domestic investors made transactions worth $2.8 billion,” the report said.

Energy, transportation and informatics were among the sectors dominating mergers and acquisitions market in Turkey while the top volume transactions were Dutch Vitol Investment’s purchase of OMV Petrol Ofisi for $1.44 billion and Spanish BBVA’s purchase of a 9.95 percent stake in Turkey’s Garanti Bank for $917 million, the report said.