Koç group backs off from sale of shares

ISTANBUL -Reuters

Koç Holding Board Chairman Mustafa Koç speaks at a conference. DHA photo

Three Koç family members attempted to sell a multi-million dollar stake of their family-run conglomerate Koç Holding, but the group has announced it has abandoned the sale due to unsatisfactory offers.

The shares, valued at around $555 million, were to be sold to use the proceeds for satisfying financial needs, such as philanthropy and raising the proportion of public shares on the top. However, the sale was retracted when the desired buyer and price could not be found. There may be anxiety caused by the possibility that the partners might attempt sales again in future, according to analysts.

Koç Holding announced on March 12 that the partners Mustafa Rahmi Koç, Mustafa Vehbi Koç, and Suna Kıraç had authorized Deutsche Bank as the manager for the private placement of 100 million Turkish Liras, out of 347.87 million liras of nominal valued shares to foreign investors, in order to increase the holding’s free float rate and to meet various financial needs.

In yesterday’s statement, however, the company said the sale had been abandoned since the prices
proposed were found unsatisfactory in the book-building process. 

Sale attempt might repeat

“It’s significant that the reason for the abandonment was the price. We don’t know what the company was expecting or how much the price was. These stakes might be put up to sale again but the price is important,” a broker said. After the statement, Koç Holding shares opened with a decrease of five percent, but the rate of loss was tempered after a brief period. Shares traded at 9.65 liras with a 3.5 percent of loss on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.