Turkey Hires Advisers to Sell $10 Billion of Seized Companies

EghtesadOnline: Turkey hired three local institutions to advise on the sale of 596 companies it seized because of alleged links to terror organizations.

News ID: ۷۷۱۸۰۳

30 November 2016

The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, known by its Turkish acronym of TMSF, picked Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi AS, or TSKB, Vera Varlik Yonetim AS and Garanti Yatirim Menkul Kiymetler AS to advise on the sale of companies grouped in three packages, the Istanbul-based fund said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

The seized entities include three commodities-related companies owned by Turkish businessman Akin Ipek, including gold miner Koza Altin Isletmeleri AS as well as coal and power producer Ipek Dogal Enerji Kaynaklari Arastirma ve Uretim AS. Other companies that feature on the list span industries ranging from construction to energy to carpet making, Bloomberg reported.

Akin Ipek vowed a court challenge from self-imposed exile if the government sells the assets it seized from him, which followed a failed coup in July to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In his first public comments since authorities confiscated 18 of his companies in September, Ipek said he followed the law in building his Koza Ipek conglomerate. He said he’s prepared to sue if the units are sold.

TMSF didn’t say when and how the sale process will be implemented.

Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said earlier this month that controlling stakes in almost 600 companies have been transferred to TMSF for allegedly aiding terrorism.

The fate of these shares will depend on the ongoing criminal investigations, he told parliament. If a terrorism link is established, then they’ll be sold, but if not, they’ll be returned to their original owners. A TMSF official put the value of seized assets at near $10 billion and said the agency is still working on mechanisms for disposing of whatever it ends up with.