Private equity firm may buy TÜVTURK shares
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Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 20, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Akfen Holding, a Turkish infrastructure and concession-investment company, has put up for sale its 33 percent stake in TÜVTURK, which obtained via tender the management rights of the country’s vehicle inspection stations in 2004.
Since vehicle inspections are mandatory, the privatization of these inspections created a huge market for companies.
Bridgepoint, a European private-equity firm, is the strongest candidate for the shares. TÜVTURK’s other partners, TÜV and Doğuş, are also potential buyers.
Speaking to journalists at an informal gathering in Istanbul, Akfen Chairman Hamdi Akın said the investments made to construct and service stations nationwide have totaled $900 million and that he has been in talks with domestic and European investors. "If we find a purchaser, I will sell my 33 percent stake in TÜVTURK," he said. "We bore it, raised it and now it is time to give it" to someone else.
Bridgepoint has completed more than 150 transactions with a total value of 12 billion euros over the last decade. Investing in businesses valued between 200 million and 1 billion euros, the firm has offices in Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm and Warsaw. Bridgepoint-backed companies currently employ some 43,000 people across Europe and have a combined turnover of more than 5 billion euros.
TÜVTURK, which now has 3,500 employees, has built 200 stations nationwide over the last 18 months, Akın said. Within the first decade, the firm will obtain a 7 percent share, half for general management costs and the other half to be shared by partners, in the stations opened via the franchise method, he added. "This means 200 properties, 200 licenses and 200 construction plans," Akın said. "This investment is equal to building 200 hotels."
In Dec. 2004, TÜVTURK, established as a partnership between Doğuş, Akfen and TÜV SÜD, won the tender for the operation rights for vehicle inspection stations, at a cost of $613.5 million.
Various lawsuits filed on the grounds that the tender is against the Constitution and the public interest, stalled the transfer transactions for 30 months. A decision of the State Council in 2007 removed all legal obstacles in front of the transfer.
Since winning the tender for the construction and management of vehicle-inspection stations, TÜVTURK has invested an additional $300 million to build and service stations nationwide.
Bridgepoint, a European private-equity firm, is the strongest candidate for the shares. TÜVTURK’s other partners, TÜV and Doğuş, are also potential buyers.
Speaking to journalists at an informal gathering in Istanbul, Akfen Chairman Hamdi Akın said the investments made to construct and service stations nationwide have totaled $900 million and that he has been in talks with domestic and European investors. "If we find a purchaser, I will sell my 33 percent stake in TÜVTURK," he said. "We bore it, raised it and now it is time to give it" to someone else.
Bridgepoint has completed more than 150 transactions with a total value of 12 billion euros over the last decade. Investing in businesses valued between 200 million and 1 billion euros, the firm has offices in Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm and Warsaw. Bridgepoint-backed companies currently employ some 43,000 people across Europe and have a combined turnover of more than 5 billion euros.
TÜVTURK, which now has 3,500 employees, has built 200 stations nationwide over the last 18 months, Akın said. Within the first decade, the firm will obtain a 7 percent share, half for general management costs and the other half to be shared by partners, in the stations opened via the franchise method, he added. "This means 200 properties, 200 licenses and 200 construction plans," Akın said. "This investment is equal to building 200 hotels."
In Dec. 2004, TÜVTURK, established as a partnership between Doğuş, Akfen and TÜV SÜD, won the tender for the operation rights for vehicle inspection stations, at a cost of $613.5 million.
Various lawsuits filed on the grounds that the tender is against the Constitution and the public interest, stalled the transfer transactions for 30 months. A decision of the State Council in 2007 removed all legal obstacles in front of the transfer.
Since winning the tender for the construction and management of vehicle-inspection stations, TÜVTURK has invested an additional $300 million to build and service stations nationwide.