Investment Office, Globalturk Capital and Datasite jointly hosted the “Cross-border M&A Transactions in Türkiye" webinar that shed light on the industry that reached record high levels in 2021 thanks in large part to the significant participation from international investors.
In his opening remarks and key messages to international business community, Investment Office President A. Burak Dağlıoğlu highlighted the main advantages and opportunities Türkiye has to offer for strategic and financial investors. Dağlıoğlu emphasized that Türkiye is a resilient and fast-growing economy with a business-friendly investment environment buoyed up by a continuous reform agenda, availability of a deep and competent talent pool, and access to global markets at the nexus of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The event was moderated by Globalturk Capital Founder and Managing Partner Barış Öney that addressed the private equity and venture capital activity as well as all the strategic M&A transactions that took place over the past two years under the pandemic circumstances.
As a keynote speaker at the event, Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) Research Director Jeff Schlapinski stated that although the global markets were under stress due to the rising inflation concerns as well as Russia-Ukraine war, and regional conflicts, these macro factors do not necessarily hold investors back from making profitable returns. Therefore, while making investment decisions, the global investment story is shifting to a focus more on a case-by-case basis.
Panelists at the event were IFC Private Equity Funds Principal Investment Officer Barış Gen, Mediterra Capital Founding Partner Ahmet Faralyalı, Albright Capital Managing Director Ahmad Al-Saati, Revo Capital Managing Director Cenk Bayrakdar, Citi Türkiye CEO and Board Member Emre Karter, Esin Attorney Partnership Partner İsmail Esin, and Datasite Vice President John Komninakidis.
The webinar concluded with an assessment of recent geopolitical developments affecting business and investment decisions, by Ambassador (Retd.) Alper Coşkun, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In line with global trends, the number of M&A transactions in Türkiye soared at record levels, reaching 400 in 2021. The disclosed deal volume has surpassed the USD 10 billion threshold, more than 60% of which was realized by international investors. The share of western investors stood at 74% in 2021.