Founding family of Turkey’s Koc to sell stake

The founding family of Turkey’s largest conglomerate, Koc Holding, is selling shares worth nearly $480 million in the firm, according to a statement filed to the Istanbul stock exchange on Thursday.

Koc Holding has interests in banking, automotive and white goods companies and operates Turkey’s sole refiner Tupras. The sale comes as Turkish equity prices have powered to record highs, buoyed by strong performances in overseas markets.

Members of the Koc family are selling a 4.22 percent stake in the conglomerate, with the price set at 15.87 lira per share, according to the statement. That values the stake at 1.7 billion lira ($478.23 million). The founding family will retain more than 11 percent of the company.

The sale, to foreign corporate investors via a private placement, represents a 6.8 percent discount from Wednesday’s closing price of 17.02 lira.

Shares of Koc, which as of Wednesday’s close had risen 25 percent since the start of this year, on Thursday dropped 6 percent to 16.0 lira. The main Istanbul share index was 0.41 percent lower.

The sale was done through accelerated book building led by Citigroup.

(RTRS)