Two giant investments from Europe, Gulf on the way

AUSTRIAN packaging giant Hamburger Recycling Group, which announced a green field investment of 300 million euros in mid-September, is buying Kastaş Kağıt, and Abraaj, which is one of the biggest funds of Gulf capital and made an investment in a domestic logistics firm in early August, aspires to of biletall.com, according to a report in the Habertürk daily.

Hamburger Recycling Group, affiliated with Austrian Prinzhorn, is one of the largest packaging companies in Europe and has recently announced the establishment of a plant in Kütahya. The company applied to the Competition Board for the purchase of İzmir-based Kastaş Kağıt. After approval, the Austrian company will become the new owner of Kastaş.

The European giant Prinzhorn also has investments in Turkey. Apart from the plant that will be in Kütahya and is planned to be operational in 2020, the company has a factory in Çorlu and one in Denizli. Prinzhorn Holding, which is affiliated with Hamburger Recycling Group, operates in 14 countries in addition to Turkey and employs 6,300 people. The company is one of the largest in Europe in packaging as well as recycling and paper. The other two main companies of Prinzhorn, which has an annual turnover of $1.23 billion, are Dunapack Packaging and Hamburger Containerboard.

Kastaş’s new owner, Hamburger Recycling Group, is in the business of collecting and trading waste paper.

Kastaş, a privately-owned company based in Izmir, was founded in 1973. In 1983, it became institutionalized and founded the first modern facility in Alsancak and became a joint stock company under the name KASTAŞ Kağıt San. ve Tic. A.Ş. The company, operating in two facilities in İzmir, separates and classifies paper-cardboard, glass, plastic, nylon and packaging waste according to type and then sends them to recycling plants in bales.

More acquisition news came from Dubai-based Abraaj Group. The company, which manages funds totaling $10 billion, has investments in 190 companies worldwide. The group, which has recently made its 10th investment in Turkey with Netlog Logistics, is buying Biletall İç ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş, which operates under biletall.com. The purchase will take place after approval from the Competition Board.

The company that Abraaj will buy is one of the most advanced ticket sales and distribution organizations in Turkey, which primarily provides transportation service tickets. Tickets for bus companies operating in 80 percent of Turkey can be purchased through this website.

Founded in 2006, Kayseri-based biletall.com does tickets of more than 160 bus companies countrywide as well as those from over 500 domestic and international airline companies, and BUDO and İDO transportation tickets. The company reached a TL 120 million in turnover in 2015 and is ranked 27th among the fastest growing companies in Turkey.

Dubai-based Abraaj is particularly interested in retail, healthcare and financial technology sectors in Turkey. The company’s first investments in Turkey were Acıbadem Hospitals and boat management company Numarine. The company left these investments, selling off its shares of both entities.

Abraaj’s ongoing investments include hepsiburada.com, Yörsan, Yuce Medikal, Republica, BRN Yatak and Fibabanka. The group’s total investment in Turkey has reached $1 billion so far.

“You can hear the reports of three more investments from us in 2017,” Abraaj Group’s Partner and Regional Head for Turkey and Central Asia Selçuk Yorgancıoğlu said at the beginning of the year. The first two investments made were Netlog and biletall.com.