ISTANBUL - Fortis, one of leading finance groups of Europe, is buying Turkish Disbank, sources said on Tuesday.
Dogan Holding, Dogan family, Disbank Personnel's Pension Fund and Disbank Personnel's Security Fund signed yesterday (Monday) an agreement with Fortis for the sale of 89.3 percent of the bank's shares.
On the other hand, according to a statement aired on the web-page of Disbank, Fortis will also make a public bid for the remaining 10.7 percent of Disbank's shares.
Total consideration will be approximately EUR 985 million, subject to price adjustments, the statement noted.
The statement said that the sale covered Foreign Investment, Foreign Portfolio, Foreign Leasing, Foreign Factoring, Disbank Malta and Dogan Emeklilik (retirement).
Tayfun Bayazit, the Chairman of Disbank's Executive Board, said that this decision confirmed not only success and strength of Disbank in financial system but also the confidence of international finance circles in Turkey and its economy.
FORTIS'S ASSETS AROUND 571 BLN EUROS
Fortis, which is among the biggest 20 financial institutions in Europe, has assets worth 571 billion Euros as of March 31st, 2005. It has a market capitalization worth 28.6 billion Euros, and employs 52,000 personnel.
Occupying a prominent position in the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg), Fortis is especially working in areas such as institutional banking, leasing, factoring, private banking and portfolio management.
Fortis is serving many countries in the world including Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Britain, Norway, Greece, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, China, Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan and Brazil.