BBVA acquires 9.95 pct more shares in Turkey's Garanti

By Faith Erkan Dogan

ANKARA (AA) - Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) purchased an additional 9.95 percent shares in Turkey's Garanti Bank from Dogus Group according to stock filing published late on Tuesday.

Ownership of the shares -- worth 3.322 billion Turkish liras ($920 million) -- will pass to BBVA when due procedures are completed.

The value per share value of the acquisition was 7.95 Turkish liras ($2.19), Garanti Bank said in a statement to Turkey's main stock exchange Borsa Istanbul.

Upon acquisition, the total shares of BBVA group in Garanti will rise to 49.85 percent and current chairman of executive board Ferit Sahenk will continue.

“The key motive behind this acquisition is confidence in the Turkish banking sector and the Turkish economy. Our partners see significant banking potential in our country and seek to benefit from this potential,” Sahenk said in a media release from Dogus Group.

BBVA also said that it seized an opportunity to increase their stake on “very attractive terms”.

“The long-term growth prospects for both Garanti and Turkey continue to be very positive despite the current uncertainties,” said Carlos Torres Vila, chief executive officer of BBVA. “This is a great opportunity to increase our stake in one of our key franchises under very attractive terms."

BBVA expects the group’s net attributable profit to surge by about $173 million in 2018.

Garanti is the top bank in Turkey by market capitalization (more than $10.3 billion) and the group has 23,678 employees, 5,125 ATMs and 1,131 branches, according to BBVA.