Thursday, August 25, 2005

GE buys big stake in major Turkish bank

"GE buys big stake in major Turkish bank
Aug 25, 2005, 14:21 GMT

ISTANBUL, Turkey (UPI) -- General Electric Co.`s consumer finance unit will pay $1.56 billion for a 26 percent stake in Turkey`s third-biggest publicly listed bank.

The Dogus group, which is selling half its majority stake in Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, under the accord, said the deal values TGB at $6.1 billion, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

The deal marks a win for GE over competitors including ABN Amro of the Netherlands, Deutsche Bank and France`s Societe Generale.

Dogus said that GE will pay an additional $250 million to acquire 49 percent of Garanti`s founder`s shares, a special class of stock that confers additional dividend rights.

GE owns banks in 19 countries."
GE buys big stake in major Turkish bank