(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's Akfen Group is in talks with banks including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to advise on the sale of assets after completing its restructuring this month.
The Ankara-based company is also in discussions with Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG to find potential buyers for its overall holding business Akfen Holding AS or stakes in individual companies such as Mersin International Port and renewable energy producer Akfen Yenilenebilir Enerji AS, Akfen Group Chairman Hamdi Akin said.
“We have interest from investors in all of our asset groups,” he said in an interview in Istanbul on Monday. “We can sell stakes, whether minority or majority or even entire shares, from all the major umbrella units or from the units under them.” Banks haven't been formally mandated for the sales and talks are ongoing, Akin said.
Akfen Group was set up as an umbrella company after Akfen Holding restructured and delisted from Borsa Istanbul last year. Akfen Holding now includes the group's profitable units such as the port and airport operators, while the Akfen Muhendislik and Akfen Altyapi units hold a construction firm, a ferry operator and a real estate investment trust among other assets.
Investor Interest
Akfen Holds 8 percent stake at Turkey's biggest airport operator TAV Havalimanlari Holding AS, while Aeroports de Paris has a 38 percent holding. The French company plans to increase its stake, Akin said.
The group has also received interest from investors in three hospital projects it's working on with the government, Akin said. Akfen's Altyapi unit is building hospitals in the Turkish cities of Isparta, Eskisehir and Tekirdag, which are expected to open this year and next, he said.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Finance Corp. last year said they will invest $200 million to acquire a combined stake of 33.4 percent in Akfen's renewable energy unit. The company plans to boost its electricity production capacity to 900 megawatts by 2020 from 450 megawatts this year, Akin said.
Afken Group also plans to invest about 6.2 billion liras ($1.7 billion) this year in its assets including hospital, solar power and hydro power projects, Akin said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Stefania Bianchi, Jon Menon
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