Talks on sale of Yapı Kredi Bankası shares terminated

ISTANBUL

Koç Holding has announced that discussions for the sale of shares in its banking unit Yapı Kredi Bankası have been terminated.

Preliminary discussions were ongoing regarding the sale of our shares in our subsidiary Yapi ve Kredi Bankası, the Turkish conglomerate said in a filing with Borsa Istanbul.

“The discussions have not resulted in a conclusion and these discussions have now been terminated,” Koç Holding said, without providing any details.

Late in May, Reuters had reported that First Abu Dhabi Bank was in advanced talks to acquire Koç Group's 61.2 percent stake in the Istanbul-based lender for about $8 billion, citing sources close to the matter.

One of the sources said that Koç had sought about $8.5 billion for its shares in Yapı Kredi and that FAB had offered about $7.5 billion.

Koç Holding owns 20.22 percent of Yapı Kredi and the stake of Koç Financial Services in the lender is 40.95 percent. Some 38.8 percent of the bank’s shares are traded on the stock exchange.

Yapı Kredi was the third largest private bank in Türkiye, with assets worth $62 billion, or 7.8 percent share in total in the banking industry as of the end of March. Its share in loans was 8 percent.

It operates a network of 781 branches with more than 15,000 employees.

The lender posted a net profit of 10.3 billion Turkish Liras in the first quarter of 2024, down by 18 percent from the same period of last year. Its net income fell by 47 percent compared with the final quarter of 2023.