| Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. Launches New Website |
| 16 June 2008 |
From what I understand, TTGV, the Turkish Technology Entrepreneur Fund has spun out Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. and has been operating for some time now, although TTGV still exists.
With that Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. (www.teknolojiyatirim.com.tr) has launced it new website. Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. has a fund size of $5 million, and so far, three companies in its portfolio. The fund is investing in startup\entrepreneurs in the Technology and Biotech arenas. Interestingly enough, it makes sense that Dr. A. Mete ÇAKMAKCI is the wise chairman at the helm, descending from TTGV, and Haluk ZONTUL is CEO. In addtion, it seems Evren UNVER, co-founder of Turkven, is also a board member.
I would like to thank by readers and friends at Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. for submitting this. The private equity/VC Index on the left sidebar has been updated.
And with that, the VC pool in Turkey just got a little bit bigger.
Labels: fundraising, Teknoloji Yatirim A.S., TTGV, Venture Capital
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| CFK Partners Launches with Turkish Focus |
| 27 April 2008 |
In my correspondance with CFK Partners and the post in regards to their acquiring a stake in Vakif Girisim, I was able to secure some information regarding their plans and focus for Turkey. I do not know how helpful this might be for my readers due to the clarity of the email response, and for that I apologize.
Here's how the emailed questions were answered:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Important Note:
Acquisition of Vakıf Girisim, will be valid following the approval from Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB).
Our Investment Strategy, Investment Focus, and Growth Scenarios will be valid in the case of approved acquisition.
How does the acquisition of Vakif Girisim fit into CFK's strategy?
Along with the other products/services, CFK & Partners overrates Venture Capital with corporate social responsibility point of view.
CFK & Partners thinks that most of the innovative ideas come to the scene at the universities and at the Techno Cities organized by TUBİTAK, but financing is very limited to turn these ideas into commercial and industrial investments.
In this concept, our company plans to support innovative ideas –(that have high potential to compete with its rivals/peers with in the country or outside the country ,and suitable for our investment strategy)- to be beneficial for the Turkish economy and to promote young, successful entrepreneurs by providing finance & managerial support.
The reason behind the CFK acquisition of Vakıf Girişim
Vakıf Girişim was founded at 1996, and it was the first Venture Capital Company in Turkey. That’s why CFK has a strong desire to keep the Vakıf Girişim afloat; and also CFK believes that the business is highly compatible with CFK’s targets.
What is your investment focus and strategy?
Investment Focus:
Projected to invest at all the niche areas and sectors, with a focus on: technology, Internet Media, Food, Logistics (focus on warehousing), Health, Energy, etc.
Investment Strategy:
- Start-up and Early Stage investments
- Pre-IPO investments (invest before 6 months -1.5 year, and exit with IPO)
- Co-Investments (invest with more than one international VC companies)
- Invest within crosswise sectors
- Founded new VC companies , to spread the risk, and to invest together (If technically applicable)
What will be your plan for growth of your portfolio? How many investments are you planning? How will you find dealflow?
- To invest in more projects; after achieving acceptable growth rates; we want to invest in min.5-6 projects for an amount of $4-6 million.
- Plan to invest with 10% of our portfolio in projects as “angel investor” , to reach our mentioned target we plan to:
- Collaborate with universities (esp. engineering faculties),
- Hold conferences
- Organize contests to promote new ideas
- Provide computer software for on-line application documents
- Plan to get help form consulting firms, to reach our goal in an effective and efficient way. (Especially we want get help from “Venture Capital Portfolio Management Firms, that has been practical with August -2007 CMB announcement).
- Plan to take a share from existence venture capital firms.
- To diversify our portfolio, we can invest in the companies that are currently listed at ISE.
Labels: CFK Partners, fundraising, Vakıf Girişim
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| Turkey Launches iVCi - The Istanbul Venture Capital Initiative - a €200M Fund-of-Funds Aided by the EIF |
| 06 January 2008 |
Well, I finally get to break the news on this one since I only received the press release a few weeks ago. It is also fitting as it is Grandstanding Traction's first post of 2008. It should be a great year. The press release reads as follows:
.jpg) The European Investment Fund (EIF), together with the Technology Foundation of Turkey (TTGV), the SME Development Organisation of Turkey (KOSGEB) and the public Development Bank of Turkey (TKB) are jointly launching a target EUR 200m dedicated fund of funds and co-investment programme in Turkey. The Istanbul Venture Capital Initiative, or “iVCi” as the programme is known, aims to serve as a catalyst for the development of the private equity industry in this country whilst achieving good returns for its investors. iVCi is to be advised by the EIF.
iVCi further consolidates EIF’s risk capital activities in Turkey, where it already has invested in Actera Partners and Turkish Private Equity Fund II. EIF's Chief Executive, Francis Carpenter, said: "we are extremely proud of supporting and being advisor to this pioneering initiative in Turkey. We have first class local partners and are confident that iVCi will accelerate the development of a sector which is key to the development of the Turkish economy."
 Sahir Cortoglu, TTGV's Secretary General, added: "this fund is a crucial starting point for formation of a risk capital market and culture which we believe will further serve as a means of technology development in Turkey" To this, Mustafa Colakoglu, Vice President of KOSGEB further commented "iVCi allows us to deliver to SMEs in Turkey top quality finance to support them reaching global markets through what has been historically an under-developed asset class in this country."
 TKB reflected on the importance of iVCi for the development of the domestic institutional investor base. Adbullah Çelik, Chairman of TKB said: "the majority of current institutional investors in Turkish private equity funds are foreign, iVCi provides a secure and sustainable environment for Turkish institutions, both public and private, to become involved as investors without hampering the corporate governance of the underlying funds." Currently, the majority of institutional investors in Turkish private equity funds are foreign based. iVCi shall provide access for its investors to the increasing number of Turkish private equity players. EIF is expected to invite a small select group of blue chip Turkish and international institutions to participate in this programme.
First closing of iVCi took place in Luxembourg on 13 November 2007 at EUR 150m. Official public launch is envisaged in the first quarter of 2008.
According to the AltAssets article on the iVCi release, the fund has a target of €200M. Also, according to Bankaciyiz - a Turkish bankers blog(in Turkish), the TKB will be contributing €10 million.
Hopefully, as this takes shape, we will see more venture capital partners and firms transpire in the area and finally grow this industry to fill the venture capital gap. It will be interesting to see what partners will take the reigns as well as what blue chip institutions will participate. I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief as this initiative gets started. I have always been somewhat negative as to the direction of the government in spurring innovation, more toward the universities and technoparks, and with the limited budgets that have been devoted, it has always been the case of very little funds locked up in bureaucratic steps. It was always the case of tax-free revenues that were suplemented by governement subsidies, which to me sounds like a company that could not survive in the real world. In addition, the universities somewhat lock incubated entrepreneurs up into "lifestyle" companies, and either continue to fund companies that should be cut loose, or maintain companies that should be growing at a greater pace if they had greater access to venture funds.
As an emerging market, Turkey made that choice of putting forward funds into univeristies and Technoparks, which isn't unwarrented given an economy that does not rely on its technology entrepreneurship. But in this case, Turkey can try to reinvent the wheel and sort of reverse engineer the process of spurring more innovation, entrepreneurship, greater job growth, growth of technology, value-add, and possibly even greater exports. Turkey is capable of creating world class companies. Again, as has been stated before on this blog, the education needs to begin. The TTGV and KOSGEB have all the tools to implement. Perhaps now it is up to univesity professors to refresh how they are training Turkey's entrepreneurs to access this capital.
Happy New Year Everyone!
[---+----+ Other Relevant News This Week +----+----]
Courtesy of the Turkish Daily News
Turkven Private Equity has acquired 70 percent of Provus Turkey and Provus Romania, the independent payment processor firm in Turkey and its operations in Romania for an undisclosed sum.
Buyers line up for Turk firms (Outlook for Foreign Mergers & Acquisitions in Turkey in 2008)
Turkey's Yildiz Holding has sold 60 percent of Fon Financial Leasing (FFK) to Kuwaiti-based Global Investment House KSCC (GIH), for $120 million.
 Technorati Tags: Venture Capital, iVCi, Entrepreneurship, Fund Closings, Fundraising, Fund-of-Funds, EIFLabels: Fund Closings, Fund of Funds, fundraising, iVCi, Venture Capital
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| Actera Group Closes Actera Partners Fund at $475 Million |
| 23 December 2007 |
The Actera Group has finally closed their Actera Partners fund at over $475 million according to an AltAssets report. This would be a new Turkish fund record, and would most likely bring 2007 to a close with an increase in the private equity funding pool of over $1 billion.
Believe me when I tell you, I have seen a google search come from every country on this site, so Actera's reach has spread far and wide, whether it be through their road shows or due dilagence. Indeed, according to the statement, "commitments came from pension funds, multilateral institutions and sovereign wealth funds from North America, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East."
The main points of the statement include:
Actera Partners will focus primarily on buy-out and growth equity investments across various industry sectors in Turkey. In addition, the fund seeks to partner with Turkish companies to support their expansion to other countries.
The fund has already completed its first transaction. In partnership with US buy-out giant TPG it has invested in Turkish spirits company Mey Icki Sanayi.
 Isak Antika, managing partner and co-founder of Actera Group, said, 'Turkey is undergoing a fundamental transformation which is reshaping its economic landscape and underpinning its convergence with the developed economies of the world. Given the size of the Turkish economy, such convergence will result in substantial value creation opportunities.'
So, congratulations go to the gentlemen operating Actera Partners, Isak Antika (of Antika Partners) and Murat Cavusoglu (previously of the George Soros SE Europe Fund/Bedminster Capital). Since starting the fund in early 2007, they truly have done a lot to promote Turkey to the rest of the world. Now, it is only a matter of time before we see more PE come to Turkey. Private equity in Turkey has finally started to blossom, and the world is finally taking note of the small-mid-large cap opportunities that are awaiting investment, especially as funds have continually gotten bigger. This still confirms a gap, and venture capital can only be next as one of Turkey's great potential opportunities that await investment.
For some more background on Actera and one of Grandstanding Traction's most popular posts, please visit, "New Turkish PE Fund by Actera Partners to welcome Canadian Pension Funds to Turkey"
The Actera Group website is still under construction.
Technorati Tags: Private Equity, Isak Antika, Antika Partners, Deal Flow, Turkey, Murat Cavusoglu, Actera PartnersLabels: Actera, Fund Closings, fundraising, Private Equity
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| Interview: Mehtap Özkan - GoldenHorn Ventures |
| 16 December 2007 |
Mehtap (Mae) Özkan, founder of GoldenHorn Ventures, was kind enough to be interviewed via email concerning her fund, and about venture capital and entrepreneurship in Turkey. I am not suprised that Mae is someone that is very passionate about entrepreneurship in Turkey and also the part that she plays in supporting that end. For an overview of GoldenHorn Ventures, you can visit the GoldenHorn Ventures website (www.goldenhornventures.com). You can also visit the GoldenHorn Ventures Blog.
I think it is very telling when, speaking of Golden Horn, Senior Investment Officer at the IFC, Ralph Keitel, states, "I believe the Turkish market currently offers excellent investment opportunities for early-stage VC firms such as GoldenHorn Ventures which understand the challenges of entrepreneurs in a globalized world." I'll let Mae tell you the story. This will be the first part of that interview.
THE FUND - GoldenHorn Ventures
Tell us something about your background and how did it evolve into venture capital?
I was an entrepreneur. I had been involved with numerous startups and technology companies. I have a technical background, I started my career as software engineer and mathematician. Then I started founding technology companies and had to understand the business as well as technology. At least, I pretend to understand.
What brought you back to Turkey?
The passion to change the world! I can do it in a much wider scale then I used to.
How did you get your start as a VC?
I was coming back to Turkey and I was seeing all the ideas and projects disappearing after a while and people start doing mainstream jobs instead of realizing their dreams. That was very frustrating for me, because they were coming up with innovative technologies.
I started thinking about what the idea owners needed to become world changing companies. That is more crucial for the emerging markets, because you can change the world so much faster when you are in an emerging country, if you can. Then I started spending a lot of time thinking what would be the right investment model for a VC in Turkey, what is needed, etc.
I have come to a conclusion that more than the money, people who needed success are needed in the region. Success stories are needed. People who know and have been successful are needed.
Another exciting part of being a VC in the emerging country is you set up the rules. You train and teach everybody what venture capital is, how it is structured etc, from the attorneys to the entrepreneurs. Yes, it is very time consuming but it is very rewarding as well.
VC business used to be an old and very private community. That is changing as well. The VC business needs to go through a revolution. Silicon Valley and all the other set players have a hard time understanding what it would become. We have a shot there too.
All these exciting changes and my belief in innovation coming from emerging countries made me think what I know would be very valuable in Turkey. I can leverage myself and help create a self-sustaining ecosystem by investing all I have here – and I don’t mean only time and knowledge, but money, connections, emotions, really everything. So, I took a major decision and started fund-raising for GoldenHorn Ventures. That was 2 years ago. But the idea and modeling is a 5 year-process.
Then I was fortunate enough to meet my partners in Turkey. They are very courageous and open minded with great connections and experience. It is very hard to find partners who are so visionary as well as experienced and practical.
When was GoldenHorn Ventures formed?
GoldenHorn Ventures was formed very recently in August 2007, launched September 2007. The fund size is $25 Million, but we are raising more meanwhile and trying to have $50 M for this fund.
Where are you in the VC Cycle - fundraising/investing/divesting?
We are investing at the moment, but also preparing for a second close.
What will be your typical investment size?
$500 K to $3 Million. Our average investment size is $2.5 M.
How long will your typical exit period be?
We are looking at 3 to 5 years.
What position(%) are you typically taking in a company?
It really depends on the stage of the company we are dealing with as well as the valuation and how much money will take the company to the next stage. I can’t say we wouldn’t get in deals less than 30% or 20%. This will be untrue. Our preference is to take minority stakes.
Can you provide us with some details about some of your investments?
 Yogurt Technologies, we are betting on a virtual world idea that connects your real identity with the virtual one. As well, there are a few nanotech projects that are quite interesting.
We tend to get excited for ideas that can be a global phenomenon. In addition yes we also look at some companies in the Internet space as well. But we really believe in innovative and disruptive components in ideas or companies.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TURKEY
As a VC focusing on Turkey, what are some of the biggest problems/challenges you encounter when looking for and investing in Turkish entrepreneurs?
We end up training everybody on what Venture capital is. That is a problem but also an opportunity.
Would you invest in Turks outside of Turkey? Or consider investing in Turkish companies and exporting them to countries that would facilitate their entrepreneurial ideas better (ie. Silicon Valley)?
Yes, definitely, We require a headquarters or idea production/ realization facility in Turkey. But we focus on creating international companies rather than only Turkish companies.
Overall, what suggestions do you have for a Turkish entrepreneur looking for VC funds?
Be bold,
Be honest,
Change the world.
VENTURE CAPITAL IN TURKEY
Why is the Turkish VC space still such a fledgling industry?
Because there are no success stories yet,
People tend to go after easy money,
Venture Capital requires entrepreneurial knowledge instead of just a pure finance background.
What are the typical concerns by LP's/potential fund investors in a Turkish fund?
People were laughing at me when I started talking about a technology VC in Turkey. The biggest concern was the deal flow, which is easy to prove. I have flown so many people here (investors and VCs eg. DFJ) to show the ideas and companies. The other concern is the exit strategy.
What do you think the government could do to promote:
- Entrepreneurship/Innovation
- The Turkish VC Industry
Let people work free. I don’t think there is much the government can do. Of course they can start programs like Yozma, but I am not really sure that governments understand entrepreneurship or startups. The best they could do is let people work free, decrease the bureaucratic steps, etc.
Being less bureaucratic as well as more entrepreneur friendly is very important.
Is the strategy and focus of Turkish VC's different from your stereotypical VC?
It has to be different in any emerging country.
I think being a good VC is about reading weak signals and detecting good ideas, good teams and good companies from those weak signals. There are many differences being a VC in an emerging country and, for example, the US.
- Weak signals are even weaker in the emerging countries.
- There is no ecosystem to support entrepreneur/idea owners or an entrepreneurial VC, so as a VC you need to disseminate your beliefs, bets, without getting tired, bring the value together from anybody possible to make things happen.
- For example in the US, the companies pretty much know what a VC expects so they tell the story according to what is being expected. That is good and bad. Good because it is easier to evaluate but bad because you are creating an environment assuming the finance world is more valuable than the ideas or idea owners. So you can actually miss big ideas just because they don’t know your rules of doing business. However, In emerging worlds, you need to understand the world of the entrepreneur/idea owner.
There are so many more differences but these are the ones that come to my mind first.
What are your predictions for the future of the Turkish VC space?
There will be more and more. The space will change very fast. There are many opportunities being a VC in Turkey, not only in technology but in many spaces. Soon, the education process will not be as tiresome and long and people will know what venture capitalists do. If we are good, than the idea of venture capitalism will be positive such as us being supporters, people who know things and support the idea owners not only with money but with experience and connections.
That is the main difference between a good VC and a bad VC. The good adds great value to a company. They praise the entrepreneur and the idea owner. They know that finance is just the means, it is not what matters, but the idea matters.
{ --- End of Interview ---}
For those entrepreneurs interested in submitting their business plans (or .ppt's ;-))to GoldenHorn Ventures, I urge you to check out the GoldenHorn Ventures website.
Technorati Tags: Venture Capital, GoldenHorn Ventures, Entrepreneurship, Fund Closings, Deal Flow, TurkeyLabels: Emerging Markets, Entrepreneurship, Fund Closings, fundraising, Golden Horn Ventures, Venture Capital
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| Turkven Closes Second Fund - TPEF II |
| 18 November 2007 |
Although there is not a lot of information out there, it can be confirmed that Turkven has closed its second fund. Posted in October in the WSJ (for subscibers), the TPEF II buyout fund is predicted to be a whopping $428 million, "which is 10 times the size of its 1st fund which closed at $44 million in 2002".
For a Turkish private equity fund, this will be the largest increase in fund size ever achieved through a second fund raising. It is also interesting to note that with the crisis in 2001 and with the formation of their first fund in 2002, they may have had to overcome a currency crunch with some of their deals as well as reassurances to their LPs regarding Turkey's economic problems at the time. It's amazing to think that despite any negative issues that may or may have not occured, the demand for and outlook of Turkey has still kept investors and LPs positive. With this second fund closing, it appears that these volatile issues have passed. In addition, their relationship with Advent International will continue.
According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) website and synopsis of the Turkven deal, their investment will comprise of some €20 million. This synopisis/project description/letter of intent is quite telling concerning Turkven's focus, strategy and relationship with the IFC. The IFC has been affiliated with Turkven since their first fund.
Finally, we come to what is officially stated on the Turkven website concerning the deal.
TURKISH PRIVATE EQUITY FUND II (2007)
TPEF II has commitments from over 15 global investors, who have invested in Turkven's strong track record and first mover status in the Turkish market.
So we know the IFC has committed €20 million and I can confirm that the EIF has committed €10 million as stated at the ÖDTÜ Entrepreneur Investor Summit in early November. With Turkven closing $400M+ and (according to Deloitte's PE in Turkey Report) Actera looking to close their second round at $400M+ with their fund this year (can we confirm AccessTurkey/iLab as well?), the Turkish private equity pool just got a lot larger. Once again, this proves the appetite for the Turkish PE deals and investment is very promising as conditions appear to be good. This also means we will see a lot happening in the small-mid cap buyout market in the next three years. I still must ask, "where is the venture space?" to fill the equity gap, but that is beside the point. Nonetheless, congratulations go to Turkven.
On a side note,
I would just like to say that Grandstanding Traction and myself are in no way affiliated with Turkven Private Equity. That should take care of any rumours regarding Turkvcanalyst. If you are interested in who I am, please drop me a line at: Turkvcanalyst(at)gmail(dot)com
Technorati Tags: Venture Capital, Turkven, Private Equity, Fund Closings, IFC, Turkey, EIFLabels: Fund Closings, fundraising, Private Equity, Turkven, Venture Capital
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| EVCA Releases Quarterly Report: Median Venture Investment Surpasses €3 million |
| 17 September 2007 |
At the end of August, the European Venture Capital Association produced its quarterly report with the help of Dow Jones, VentureOne, and Ernst & Young. The highlight of the report, published here by AltAssets, is that European venture capital investment reached €1.14bn in Q2 2007 despite a drop in deal flow to 213 in Q2 2007 from 223 in Q1 and 265 in the same period last year.
While great news for investors and entrepreneurs in Europe with a venture model coming of age, the real story should be next quarters results to understand if the markets and appetite for investments remained confident after the credit fluctuations in the US and abroad. Surely the investing of private equity funds in this stage of the cycle does not stop investors from investing funds in smart companies. As of yet, we still have not seen any stagnation in fundraising either. As well, what IRRs these funds will be gaining is another area of interest in the years to come.
But I think what is most striking about this report is that the median size of venture investment round has surpassed €3 million. Here is an excerpt from the report that is most telling about this:
'The European venture capital market saw an explosion in early-round investing as €600m was poured into 126 early stage deals,' said Jessica Canning, director of global research for Dow Jones VentureOne. 'The data shows the median amount invested in a first round during the quarter was €3.2m, by far the highest total on record. Add to that a continued interest in later stage deals and the overall median for a deal done in Europe jumped 41 per cent during the second quarter to a record €3.1m.'
'The record median round size in Europe this quarter is the continuation of a trend that we have observed over the last 18 months in which investors are providing greater sums to fewer companies, allowing those companies to better compete globally and build critical mass for an IPO or M&A,' added John De Yonge, research director for the Ernst & Young Global Venture Capital Advisory Group.
Buyout funds around the world are setting records in fundraising. For example; see how Carlyle has just closed its Carlyle Europe Partners III out at a cool $7 billion. While some VCs in Silicon Valley are even complaining that the VC model is broken, some even giving money back to LPs (Sevin Rosen), we have to pause and wonder "Where is the venture model going?" Research has proven that with increased fund sizes comes increased median investment sizes and increased valuations of investments whether inflated or not, and increaing acquisition prices. The decreasing number of investments could be considered direct support for the "Venture Capital Model is Broken" Theory, and is definitely cause for concern. We have all talked about the "Funding Gap" that exists between Seed and Incubation Investment and Series A. Are we reaching a stage where incubated companies will only have banks (or possibly angels) to turn to? What should fill this gap is the true venture model.
And for Turkey, firstly we should be concerned how much of the EVCA number includes Turkey if any. We should also be concerned about the outliers in the data that constitute venture. Secondly, since the Turkish government has pinned "so much" investment toward the building of incubator science and technoparks, we must ponder about our incubated companies who will simply not make the cut when looking for that venture financing. The foci of Turkish Venture Funds is still fairly traditional - technology (with some stipulations). And if the median investment round is to increase - what then? The funding gap has just gotten larger...
Finally, once again, I'm going to send a shout out to the Turkish Venture Capital Assocation (if there is one) that is actually registered with the EVCA, and challenge them, "Where is the data?" I'm willing to work with you here. Would someone at the EVCA give them a call, please? Maybe the fault does not lie with the TVCA, but rather the reluctance of Turkish VCs toward paying dues and continuing the work of the TVCA! If you want to set the record straight on this, I urge the TVCA, the EVCA or any Turkish VC to contact this site, or comment below.
Technorati Tags: Venture Capital, EVCA, TVCA, Quarterly Report, Deal Flow, Turkey, entrepreneurship, Incubation, innovation, Funding Gap, incubator, VCLabels: EVCA, Funding Gap, fundraising, Incubators, Investment Reports, Median Investments, Private Equity, private equity research, TVCA
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| Is Turkey's IPO Window Open on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB)? Here are the 2007 IPOs! |
| 29 July 2007 |
2007 has been a very busy year, indeed. In the first half of the year, there were 8 IPO's (including Albaraka Turk Bank) totaling $2.820 billion. This breaks a record set in 2000, when 36 companies went public for close to the same amount. Here is a breakdown of the last 8 years of IPOs on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB). Remember, there was a crisis at the beginning of 2001.
| IMKB IPOs (2000-2007)
|
| YEAR |
NUMBER OF IPOs |
AMOUNT RAISED (USD) |
| 2000 |
36 |
$2,809 mln |
| 2001 |
1 |
$200,000 |
| 2002 |
4 |
$56.5 mln |
| 2003 |
2 |
$11.3 mln |
| 2004 |
12 |
$600 mln |
| 2005 |
9 |
$1,740 mln |
| 2006 |
15 |
$930 mln |
| 2007 (as of November) |
9 |
3,313 mln |
To follow, here is a list of the 2007 IPOs that have occured on the IMKB.
| IMKB IPOs (As of November 2007)
|
| DATE |
COMPANY IPO |
AMOUNT RAISED (USD) |
| Feb. 15-16 |
TAV Airports Holding |
$335 mln |
| Feb. 22-23 |
Sağlam REIT |
$5.59 mln |
| April 25-26-27 |
Oyak Yatırım Ortaklığı A.Ş.
(Oyak Investment Fund) |
$8.31 mln |
| April 16-17-18 |
Merkez Securities INC. B Type Investment Trust |
$2.43 mln |
| May 2-3-4 |
Halkbank |
$1,837 mln |
| May 10-11 |
İş Investment Services |
$74.2 mln |
| June 14-15 |
Sinpaş REIT |
$384 mln |
| June 20-21-22 |
Albaraka Turk Bank |
$173 mln |
| Nov. 19-20 |
Tekfen Holding |
$493 mln |
This information has been sourced directly from the IMKB website. In addition, Elif Batu Yener from Referens/TDN posts some of this information and ends with an interesting quote from Attila Köksal, director general of Dundas Ünlü Securities, "The sway of foreigners in the market has changed the face of IPOs. Small volume companies are not of interest anymore. An IPO of $20-30 million is harder than one of $100 million. Because it does not attract foreigners."
My question is this: What does this mean for Private Equity or VC's in Turkey?
Occasionally I've referenced Josh Lerner's Venture Capital Cycle and this situation is no different. According to Black and Gilson (1998):"The health of the VC market depends on the existance of a vibrant public market that allows new firms to issue shares. Only with such a public market can VC's make a credible committment to entrepreneurs that they will ultimately relinquish control of the firms in which they invest."
From previous research, we also know that if there is an increase in the number of IPO's there should also follow an increase in investments as well as funds being raised. In other words (thus empirically proven) VCs and PE professionals assert that the "IPO window is open" and continue upon their work to take firms public (or rush firms to public offerings (grandstanding)), and/or raise more funds. We have seen an increase in fund raising. We could also say that in this positive environment of excess liquidity (raised funds and investments), more IPOs could also follow. This also brings up a good question: What does a bubble look like on the IMKB?
To add to that, we know that the elections are over, and the IMKB 100 has been breaking records and rocketing to heights never seen before. Two weeks ago, speculators were wondering if IMKB 100 could break 52K. Upon closing of the election, it had reached 55K, but as of this posting, the IMKB 100 now stands at 51,424.
In addition, large companies such as KVK, Digiturk (expected to raise $200-$300 mln in the 4th quarter) and Ülker Chocolate are in line to launch IPOs. We will just have to wait and see how these fall out. As to Mr. Köksal's comment, it is a shame for seed and venture investors that the companies being floated and the exit opportunities on the IMKB are a bit on the larger side and therefore somwhat reliant on buyout funds and foreign investors. By looking at the entities being floated, two are real estate investment trusts, a sector that has seen some rapid growth as of late. We also see an investment trust and financial services, not to mention the privatization of Halkbank by taking some shares public.
We must admit that the IMKB does not specialize in technology IPOs, nor is the IMKB's IPO success a resemblence to NASDAQs bubble of the late 90's and the inflated valuations that came with it. However, in its own respect, the IMKB has come of age and we can say that the IPO window is open, albeit for the more traditionalist (bricks and mortar) company. This post will be updated over the course of the year as more IPOs are floated.
GEEKY SIDE NOTE
Is it me, or does the IMKB's website (Turkish) just wreak of the Pre-Web 1.0 bubble and post-70's bureaucrats? Remember the days of using Prodigy or AOL and jumping off Yahoo! to see the IMKB website on your 14.4 dialup modem? That's what it feels like. Take a look at the NASDAQ or the London AIM for comparison. For a stock exchange website to not even have a ticker of symbols and quotes just seems...strange. No Flash, no CSS, not even javascript! Come on, IMKB - get with the 21st century - you are supposed to be in the business of floating and listing companies, marketing to potential IPOs and investors that you have a modern reliable trading infrastructure. Animated .GIFs just don't cut it anymore.
Technorati Tags: IMKB, IPOs, exits, fundraising, Deal Flow, Turkey, Dundas Ünlü Securities, Attila Köksal, IPO Window, Josh Lerner, Venture Capital Cycle, go public, REITLabels: exits, fundraising, IMKB, IPOs, REIT
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| New Turkish PE Fund by Actera Partners to welcome Canadian Pension Funds to Turkey |
| 09 February 2007 |
On February 7th, I happened to notice a page view in my statistics from the office network of Financial News Online, a UK financial newspaper. They just so happened to be searching google for "Private Equity Turkey 2006". So I decided to bite, and to my amazement, it seems the Private Equity industry (in addition to the foreign investment in the Turkish banking industry) is taking off.
Actera Partners, formed by Isak Antika, managing director of Antika Partners, and Murat Cavusoglu, formerly a managing director at Bedminster Capital Management, which runs a South Eastern Europe fund (formerly Soros Investment Capital Ltd), have formed a targeted €250m ($325m) joint venture between the €65bn Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the €67bn
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (press release).
That's right. Two very large Canadian pension funds have come together to form one of the largest PE funds focusing exclusively on Turkey. The fund will be focusing on buyout and growth equity investments across all sectors in Turkey, and will also partner with Turkish groups to help them expand internationally.
The deal is cited to be the result of increased harmonization between Turkey and Europe. Jim Leech, senior vice-president of Teachers' Private Capital, was quoted as saying, "Turkey is an attractive private equity market, with a large and growing population, a high number of quality mid-market businesses, and a developing economy which is expected to benefit from becoming increasingly harmonised with Europe."
Maybe the hopes and dreams cited in Evren Unver's powerpoint slide from Athens VC Conference in 2004 have finally come true for Turkey.
As well, perhaps that is why I saw so many google searches for Antika Partners last month – due diligence taking its course. But regardless, would anyone else care to have a beer over the continued traction of Private Equity in Turkey? Most likely Murat and Isak are. I ask you, are we finally seeing the fruits of an emerging market and perhaps more entries to come? Stay tuned.
Technorati Tags: Private Equity, Isak Antika, Antika Partners, Deal Flow, Turkey, Murat Cavusoglu, Bedminster Capital, George Soros, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Actera Partners, Jim Leech, Evren UnverLabels: Actera, deal flow, Emerging Markets, fundraising, Venture Capital
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Publisher: Jon H. Black
