Turkish Forum

Tag: Dexia

  • Exclusive: Qatar bank stalks Dexia’s Turkish arm

    Exclusive: Qatar bank stalks Dexia’s Turkish arm

    By Victoria Howley and Dinesh Nair

    LONDON/DUBAI

    qatar

    (Reuters) – Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA, the Gulf state’s largest lender, is eyeing Denizbank (DENIZ.IS), the fast-growing Turkish arm of euro zone debt casualty Dexia (DEXI.BR), in a deal potentially worth up to $6 billion.

    QNB, 50 percent owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, would be the latest Qatari interest in Dexia’s assets after the Gulf state’s royal family last week bought Banque Internationale Luxembourg, a private bank.

    “QNB Group announced that it has entered into negotiation with DenizBank in Turkey toward the aim of acquiring a controlling stake,” it said in an emailed statement, confirming a Reuters report earlier on Tuesday.

    It said talks were still at an early stage.

    The lender said a potential deal would depend on how well Denizbank fitted with QNB’s expansion strategy and on a price that “fairly reflects” the Turkish bank’s financial position.

    Denizbank shares rose 12.7 percent on the Istanbul stock exchange at 1333 GMT. They have risen more than 55 percent in the last month in anticipation of a potential deal, Reuters data shows.

    Qatar’s al-Thani royal family also runs investment groups including QIA, which has invested in European banks including Barclays (BARC.L) in the past.

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch is evaluating strategic options for Denizbank.

    QNB, which has been talking to investments banks about a possible bid, could also use its own in-house investment banking team for an offer, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

    Bankers said Denizbank was one of Dexia’s best assets and a cheap way into the Turkish market, where banking licenses are hard to obtain. Sources said the deal could be worth up to $6 billion.

    Middle East unrest and debt crises in Europe and North America have made Turkish firms a natural target for Gulf investors, lured by the region’s growth prospects.

    A strong recovery from the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 has persuaded many long-term investors to look at Turkey.

    Its economy grew 10.2 percent in the first half of this year while the International Monetary Fund’s forecast of 2.5 percent growth in 2012 is well above the 1.1 percent which it predicts for the euro zone.

    The bankers said an acquisition would be a stretch for expansion-minded QNB, even though it was the largest lender in the Gulf Arab state.

    “A purchase would give them scale and the Gulf Arab region is in love with Turkey. Still, Denizbank would be a large trade for them,” one banker said.

    QNB has been expanding abroad, with operations in Jordan, Switzerland, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Its third-quarter net profit rose 27 percent as it increased lending in Qatar’s booming economy.

    RIVAL INTEREST

    Sources said the sale of Denizbank could attract multiple offers and Dexia would be able to offload the business easily.

    Last week, Sberbank (SBER03.MM), Russia’s No.1 lender, said it was looking at the bank as a potential acquisition target but had yet to begin talks.

    Bankers said Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), Italy’s largest retail lender, was another potential bidder. Chief executive Corrade Passera has said there was “nothing on the table” on the subject.

    They also said Turkish group Akbank could be a candidate but were skeptical about interest from other domestic banks. International interest was expected to include HSBC (HSBA.L).

    Dexia was rescued by Belgium and France because of its heavy exposure to Greece and after it could no longer secure short-term credit to finance long-term lending activities.

    Dexia bought into Denizbank in 2006 when it took a 75 percent stake for $2.4 billion, later lifting its ownership above 99 percent.

    In August, QNB set up a $7.5 billion euro medium-term note program to fund its banking operations. The lender picked Barclays, HSBC and QNB Capital as arrangers.

    (Additional reporting by Sophie Sassard; Editing by David Cowell)

    via Exclusive: Qatar bank stalks Dexia’s Turkish arm | Reuters.

  • Four European Banks Interested in Dexia Turkish Unit, HT Says

    Four European Banks Interested in Dexia Turkish Unit, HT Says

    Four European banks applied to the Ernst & Young in preparation for a possible acquisition of Denizbank AS (DENIZ), Dexia SA (DEXB)’s unit in Turkey, Haberturk newspaper said citing Ernst & Young in Turkey.

    The potential buyers include Russia’s OAO Sberbank and two banks with no presence in Turkey, the Istanbul-based newspaper said. The fourth bank has 300-500 branches in Turkey and wants to increase its market share, meaning it’s either HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) or ING Groep NV (INGA), the newspaper said.

    To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul at bharvey11@bloomberg.net

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Aydan Eksin at aeksin@bloomberg.net

    via Four European Banks Interested in Dexia Turkish Unit, HT Says – Bloomberg.

  • Dexia, NBG’s Turkish Banks Surge on Bets Owners Will Sell

    Dexia, NBG’s Turkish Banks Surge on Bets Owners Will Sell

    By Benjamin Harvey

    (Closes share prices in second paragraph.)

    Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) — The Turkish units of crisis-hit Dexia SA and National Bank of Greece SA surged in Istanbul amid speculation the banks will be sold under plans to rescue their European parents.

    Denizbank AS, bought by Dexia in 2006, climbed 8.7 percent to 11 liras at 5:30 p.m. in Istanbul, valuing the bank at more than twice that of its owner. Finansbank AS, controlled by National Bank of Greece, jumped 7.7 percent to 3.66 liras. The gains helped Turkey’s banking index rise 0.9 percent.

    A decision to dismantle Dexia at the weekend coincides with a vow by Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel to outline a plan this month to recapitalize European banks as investors hesitate to extend short-term funding to banks. Meanwhile Turkish banks are among the most valuable of emerging market assets owned by European lenders as loan growth in the country surges almost 40 percent annually amid an economic boom. OAO Sberbank of Russia is among banks that have expressed an interest.

    “Both of them will be sold,” said Bali Ekin, head of equity trading at Credit Europe Bank NV in Amsterdam. “Denizbank may go quicker than Finansbank.”

    ‘Rock Solid’

    The banks could be sold for as much as 2.5 times book value, and possibly higher if the macro environment stabilizes, as “Turkish banks are rock solid,” Ekin said.

    Denizbank was trading at 1.95 times book value and Finansbank 1.64 times book value, according to Bloomberg data. Dexia owns more than 99.8 percent of Denizbank, with the rest traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Similarly, National Bank of Greece owns 99.8 percent of Finansbank, according to shareholder data on Finansbank’s website.

    European owners’ need to raise capital makes a sale conceivable even though National Bank of Greece and Dexia would be getting rid of some of their most profitable assets, said Claude Tiramani, head of the emerging markets fund at Lucretia Capital, a Paris-based asset manager.

    “Historically when a bank needs to be recapitalized it tends to focus its activity in its home market,” Tiramani said. “That means it sells its non-domestic assets as part of its strategy. From the seller’s point of view, it is a situation of sell what you can and not what you want.”

    OAO Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, is studying the possibility of acquiring Denizbank, Sberbank Chief Executive Officer German Gref told reporters in Moscow today. The Russian lender hired Deutsche Bank AG and Troika Dialog Group Ltd. to advise on a possible offer, Kommersant newspaper reported on Oct. 8.

    Denizbank’s three-day advance of 34 percent values the lender at 7.8 billion liras ($4.3 billion) compared with Dexia’s market capitalization of 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion). Dexia rose 0.8 percent to 81 cents in Brussels trading today. Finansbank’s share price values the company at 8.5 billion liras ($4.6 billion), about $2.5 billion more than its parent.

    Dexia’s board met two days ago to review a plan under which the lender would set up a bad bank for its troubled assets, hive off its French municipal loan book and seek buyers for remaining units.

    The bank is the “crown jewel,” among Dexia’s assets, Denizbank Chief Executive Officer Hakan Ates said in an interview in Istanbul today. He said there were currently no plans to sell the bank, and he would be flying to Belgium tomorrow to discuss Dexia’s restructuring with management there.

    “The key thing in this business, especially at this time, is profitable growth, and we have it,” he said.

    National Bank of Greece will wait to evaluate developments before assessing any opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, Deputy Chief Executive Anthimos Thomopoulos said Aug. 30.

    –Editor: Mark Bentley, Aydan Eksin

    To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul at bharvey11@bloomberg.net

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

    via Dexia, NBG’s Turkish Banks Surge on Bets Owners Will Sell – Businessweek.