"Bidders line up for $3bn Turkish bank
By Ben Marlow
05 March 2006
EUROPEAN banks are scrambling to draw up bids for Turkey’s Denizbank, one of the country’s most attractive remaining private banks. Denizbank has appointed US investment house JP Morgan to explore strategic options, which a number of European banks have taken as an invite to launch bids.
Those thought to be examining Denizbank hardest are Italy’s Banca Intesa and France’s Société Générale, both of which have lost out to rivals in other recent bank auctions in Turkey. The battle to buy Denizbank, which is valued at about $3bn (E2.5bn, £1.7bn), is expected to be particularly competitive as the list of banks being sold in Turkey is likely to run out in the next 18 months. There are still several European players keen to establish a presence in the country that have been unlucky in previous auctions."
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