Turkey kicks off lottery privatization process

The Privatization Administration Board will ask companies or consortia interested in the privatization of the National Lottery Administration to apply for pre-qualification by Jan. 15, 2009, AA said.The tender would be opened for 10-years through license handover method, and the privatization administration board will receive bids until Feb. 27, 2009, it added.It will be a sealed tender, and a bargaining process will take place. The total assets of participant companies/consortia should be at least $250 million in 2006 and 2007, and their total equity should be at least $150 million, according to the report.Companies interested in the tender include GTech-Lottomatica , Essnet-Tattersall, Scientific Games, Camelot, Opap and Intralot, Turkey's Koc Holding, Austrian Lotteries, Sisal, Dogus Group, Alarko and Cukurova Group.