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Turkey's Yildiz gets bids for dairy business stake

ISTANBUL, April 11, 2015

Yildiz Holding, Turkey's largest food group, has had several bids for a stake in its dairy business Ak Gida that could be worth some $950 million, but a stock market listing is still an option, sources familiar with the matter said.

In January, Yildiz said it had mandated HSBC and Turkish investment bank Unlu & Co to look into prospects for both an initial public offering and a strategic partnership. Last month, Ak Gida said it applied to the Capital Markets Board for an IPO of up to 45 per cent of the firm.

But sources said that while the IPO remained an option, the company had seen strong demand from potential buyers.

"The mandate for Ak Gida encompasses both a public offering and a sale to strategic investors. There is strong demand for the company from domestic and international strategic and financial investors," the source said.

Yildiz Holding declined to comment.

The source said that after receiving non-binding bids last week, talks were expected to begin in the next week with investors on a shortlist.

"The public offering process is continuing in tandem with this. Whichever is assessed as being more attractive for the company will be the preferred path," he said.

Another source familiar with the matter said one of the strategic investors interested in the company was from the Gulf region and another was from Europe. He did not provide further details.

"Looking at the bids which have been received, the valuation of Ak Gida will be at a level above 2.5 billion lira ($951 million)," this source said.

The sources did not say how large a stake in Ak Gida might be sold but said it would a stake of "strategic significance."

Yildiz, which also owns Turkey's largest listed food maker Ulker Biskuvi, bought UK-based cookies and snacks maker United Biscuits in November, in a deal it said made it the world's third-biggest biscuit maker.

Yildiz bought premium chocolate maker Godiva for $850 million in 2007 and DeMet's Candy Co, the U.S. maker of Flipz chocolate pretzels and Turtles covered nut clusters, for $221 million in 2013.

Ak Gida had sales of 2.04 billion lira in 2014, up 16.7 per cent from a year earlier. Its exports last year amounted to 84.7 million lira, mostly to Middle East countries.-Reuters




Tags: Turkey | Yildiz |

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