Economy

Turkey holds auctions for 3 sugar factories

Offers to 3 sugar factories total over $370 million

26.04.2018 - Update : 26.04.2018
Turkey holds auctions for 3 sugar factories

By Aysenur Saglam and Mustafa Calkaya

ANKARA

The Privatization Administration of Turkey conducted separate auctions to corporatize three sugar factories, with offers to the tune of 1.5 billion Turkish liras ($370.4 million).

Afyon, Burdur, and Elbistan -- the three factories of the Turkish Sugar Refineries Corporation (Turkseker) -- went up for auction on Thursday.

The Dogus Food Beverage offered the highest bid -- 725 million Turkish liras ($178.5 million) -- for the Afyon Sugar Factory, while its tender started from 701.1 million Turkish liras ($172.6 million). This factory is the third sugar factory purchased by Dogus Food Beverage as part of the auctions.

The auction for Burdur Sugar Factory started from 405 million Turkish liras ($99.7 million) and it received bids of up to 487 million Turkish liras ($119.9 million) by the joint venture of Erser Group and Sterk Plastic Inc.

On the last auction of the day, Elbistan Sugar Factory sold for 297 million Turkish liras ($73.1 million), which was also the tender's starting price, to the Mutlucan Mining Company.

The auctions took place within the scope of privatization of sugar factories -- Afyon, Erzurum, Alpullu, Ilgin, Bor, Kastamonu, Burdur, Kirsehir, Corum, Mus, Elbistan, Turhal, Erzincan, and Yozgat -- in 2000.

Previously, six sugar factories -- Bor, Kirsehir, Corum, Yozgat, Turhal and Ilgin -- were sold for nearly 2.6 billion Turkish liras (around $649.6 million), while Erzurum Sugar Factory's auction did not get enough bids.

* Gokhan Ergocun contributed to this story from Ankara

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