Turkven acquires 50 percent stake in Koton

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

World famous model Alessandra Ambrosio walks a Koton catwalk in Istanbul. AA photo

Local investment fund Turkven and its Dutch-based subsidiary Nemo Apparel have acquired a 50 percent stake in Turkish textile giant Koton, which entered the Turkish market 24 years ago and now has 284 stores, 200 of which are in Turkey, according to daily Milliyet.

The Turkven-Nemo Apparel move comes on the heels of a recent wave of foreign partnerships with local Turkish textile companies, such as a partnership between Eastgate, the investment arm of National Commercial Bank (NCB), the Middle East’s largest bank, and local Silk & Cashmere as well as Kuwait Global Investment House’s partnership with Yargıcı.

Turkey’s Turkven investment fund has purchased half of Koton for $500 million.

Today, Koton has a turnover of approximately 700 million Turkish Liras and its 2012 target is $1 billion with the opening of 51 new stores in 2012. The company, which employs more than 2,000 employees, sells more than 25 million products annually, according to Milliyet.

Koton aspires to make it on the Fortune 500 list, according to Co-President Gülden Yılmaz.

“We’ve never had a vision which we were unable to make a reality,” Yılmaz said.

The share transfer agreement was announced to Turkey’s Competition Board, but the exact percentage of the share purchase was not disclosed.