Dutch ING to buy Turkey’s Oyak Bank
ANKARA (AP) – Dutch financial institution ING Groep NV will buy Turkey’s Oyak Bank for US$2.67 billion (-2 billion) in cash, the Turkish bank said in a statement yesterday. The transaction, which remains subject to approval by Turkish authorities, will be financed from existing resources, ING said. The acquisition of Oyak Bank follows the purchase of several banks and other Turkish financial institutions by foreign investors in recent years after the country carried out structural reforms to enhance its once-ailing banking sector. The National Bank of Greece bought a majority stake in Turkey’s Finansbank and Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC, Europe’s largest mobile phone company, bought Telsim, Turkey’s second-largest mobile telephone company. A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Oger Telecom also took over a 55 percent stake in formerly state-owned landline monopoly Turk Telekom. «The acquisition is in line with our strategy of supporting the strong organic growth of the group with suitable add-on acquisitions,» said ING Chairman Michel Tilmant said. «It also provides the opportunity to distribute wealth management products in the future as the market further grows.» The deal will probably be closed in the second half of this year. ING is both a banking and insurance company – in the top 20 globally – with operations in 50 countries. «Given our experience in Poland and Romania this is an exciting opportunity to enter another major fast growing market,» said Eli Leenaars, executive board member responsible for ING’s global retail banking activities. «We are in a good position to rapidly expand our position in Turkey.» Oyak Bank, founded in 1984, has 360 branches across Turkey and a market share of nearly 3 percent, according to ING’s statement. Oyak Bank offers a full range of banking services with a focus on retail banking.
