Mergers, acquisitions volume hit $5B in Turkey

ANKARA

The volume of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in Turkey, including unclosed ones, reached $5 billion in 2019, said audit and consulting giant Ernst & Young (EY) on Tuesday.

Last year's volume was down on an annual basis, as high-volume transactions were replaced by medium- and low-volume transactions, said the EY Turkey report.

"It is seen that the foreign investors’ interest in Turkey was below the country's potential due to negative developments in the region, contraction in demand and uncertainties in global markets," it underlined.

A total of 212 M&A transactions were sealed in 2019, up from 191 the previous year.

The audit and consulting giant expects $8 billion of M&A transaction volume in 2020 on the back of better foreign investor interest, realization of expected public sector transactions, and deferred private sector transactions, the report noted.

The number of disclosed deals last year was 75, with a transaction volume of $2.7 billion.

"Among them, there were no transactions exceeding a billion dollar level," it said.