BLOOMBERG - Most of EM PE Funds See More Deals in Turkey in 2020

More than 70% of general and limited partners in private equity funds that already have investments in Turkey expect more investment in the country this year, according to a survey of 90 participants by Washington-based Emerging Markets Private Equity Association or EMPEA.

* 76% of participants responded to the risk of investing in Turkey from low to tolerable levels; highest risk factors are geopolitics and currency

* 75% of the participants said total commitment to invest in 2020 in Turkey is less than $100m and remainder greater than $100m

* “The results clearly showed that 2020 would be a year of significant PE activity in terms of both investments and exits especially below $100 million ticket sizes”

* Participants included CITIC Capital Holdings, Franklin Resources, Investcorp, Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking, EBRD, IFC, DEG, Turkven Private Equity, Esas Holding, NBK Capital, Blackstone Group

* “One area Turkey is interesting for the funds is the industrial base in this country,” says Baris Oney, founder of Istanbul-based PE firm Globalturk Capital and EMPEA’s Turkey representative; “Around 1 million businesses are from manufacturing industry, with 1 billion consumers in and around Turkey. Now that the currency got devalued, investing into such companies are likely to generate good returns.”

* NOTE: EMPEA is global industry association for private capital in emerging markets; an independent, non-profit organization, it brings together 300+ firms including institutional investors, fund managers, and industry advisers who manage more than $5 trillion in assets across 130 countries

Ercan Ersoy