Turkey’s Gozde to hold IPO

Turkey’s Gozde Girisim will hold an initial public offering for up to 35 percent of its discount retailer unit Sok Marketler, it said on Wednesday, in what is widely expected to be one of Istanbul’s top flotations this year.

Sok, with more than 4,700 stores and 21,000 employees, is one of Turkey’s biggest discount retailers, selling groceries, fresh produce and household items.

The listing could be worth at least $700 million, a source told Reuters last month.

The IPO would be completed in May 2018, with the majority of the proceeds to be used to pay back debt, according to a draft prospectus filed with the Istanbul stock exchange.

The IPO would be for 18.75 percent of Sok, with an offer of an additional 16.25 percent, Gozde said.

Gozde Girisim is the investment arm of food giant Yildiz Holding, the owner of Godiva chocolate and McVitie’s biscuits.

It owns 39 percent of Sok. A Netherlands-based investor consortium owns another 50 percent, while a private equity fund run by Templeton Asset Management holds 10 percent. (RTRS)