Kazakh-led oil consortium wins auction for Petkim
Published July 9th, 2007
A Kazakhstan-based consortium, TransCentralAsia Petrochemical Holding, on Thursday won an auction for 51 percent of Turkey’s state-run petrochemicals company Petkim with a bid of 2.05 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros).
The consortium includes the Kazakh Caspi Neft and Eurasia companies, the Russian bank Troika Dialogue and a number of Kazakh investors in the oil exploration and production sector, the group’s spokesman Haluk Recai Ulusoy said after the televised auction.
The winners outbid seven other contenders, among them a consortium of the Azerbaijani oil company Socar, Turkey’s Turcas and Saudi-based Injaz Projects, which was beaten at the final round of bidding.
The consortium “intends to make serious investment in the energy field” and new partners could join the group, Ulusoy said.
Turkey’s privatisation authorities must now approve the sale for the takeover to be finalised.
In June 2003, Turkey sold 88.86 percent of Petkim to the controversial business family Uzan for 605 million dollars (443 million euros), but cancelled the deal two months later when the financially-strapped Uzans failed to fulfill required conditions.
A second tender in August 2003 for the block sale of 88.86 percent failed for lack of investor interest.
In April 2005, 34.5 percent of the company’s shares were sold to Turkish and foreign investors in a public offering worth 267 million dollars (196 million euros).
About 39 percent of Petkim shares are currently traded on the Istanbul stock exchange.
Petkim controls one-third of the petrochemical market in Turkey and employs about 4,000 people.
It posted a net profit of 41 million dollars (30.05 million euros) in 2006.
