Turkey’s Bereket Taps Goldman, JPMorgan to List Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Power-grid operator Bereket Enerji Uretim AS mandated banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help sell shares in its renewable-energy unit, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Istanbul-based group has also hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. to advise on the IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plan isn’t public yet. The IPO may value the business at $1 billion, according to one of the people.

Bereket plans to sell shares in the first half of 2020 if appetite for Turkish assets is strong, the people said. Listings in Turkey have all but dried up over past year amid a slowing economy, a crash in the lira, and soaring interest rates. That also forced Turkish companies to try and restructure debt. Bereket Enerji, too, agreed with lenders to extend maturities on about $5 billion of loans, in one of the largest restructurings in the country.

The lira has since rebounded, and JPMorgan said last month it expects the country’s capital markets to pick up steam as inflation and interest rates stabilize. The Turkish unit of Azeri state oil and gas company Socar, and Istanbul-based power plant company Karpowership have already lined up initial public offerings.

Bereket Enerji’s renewable business has 28 power plants with a total capacity of 1,106 megawatts, about half of its total power capacity, according to its website. The group also has two electricity distribution networks in western Turkey serving nearly 5 million people.

The business has around $200 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, as its power sales are guaranteed under a government incentive plan that boosts renewable power, the people said. Some of the proceeds from the IPO may go toward repaying debt due to banks as part of the restructuring plan, one of the people said.

Bereket, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan declined to comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kerim Karakaya in Istanbul at kkarakaya2@bloomberg.net;Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, ;Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Adveith Nair, James Hertling

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