UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, and HSBC Holdings said it’s becoming more costly to buy Turkish firms as investors such as Commercial Bank of Qatar drive up prices to get a foothold in its expanding economy.
“Everyone’s a strong believer in the growth prospects of the country and that sends the sellers’ expectations higher,” Selim Kervanci, head of global banking in Turkey for HSBC, said in an interview at the bank’s offices in Istanbul two days ago. “One transaction sets the benchmark for the next.”
Turkey is attracting investors seeking to tap a near $800bn economy set to grow about 4% this year. Commercialbank of Qatar, known as CBQ, said earlier this week it agreed to buy a 70.8% stake in Turkey’s Alternatifbank for two times book value. That compares with OAO Sberbank’s acquisition of Turkey’s Denizbank from Belgium’s Dexia for 1.3 times book value, or about $3.8bn, last year.
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