The Abraaj Group Closes First Turkey Fund At $526 Million Abraaj Turkey Fund I targets "well-managed, mid-sized businesses" operating in sectors such as consumer goods and services, healthcare, financial services, logistics and retail.
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The Abraaj Group has closed its first Turkey-dedicated fund at US$526 million, which includes $40 million in co-investments, against a target of $500 million. In a statement Abraaj revealed that Abraaj Turkey Fund I (ATF I) has been supported by contributions from new and existing investors, with 70% of the funds coming from Europe and North America-based backers. Further, institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds account for 78% of the capital. ATF I is said to target "well-managed, mid-sized businesses" operating in sectors such as consumer goods and services, healthcare, financial services, logistics and retail. ATF I has already made two investments- one in Turkish e-commerce company Hepsiburada, which counts five million customers, and secondly, in Fibabanka, a leading bank in Turkey.
Abraaj has been active in Turkey's private equity industry through a local team for almost a decade now, having deployed $900 million across 11 investments. Abraaj also admits to have generated over US$ 800 million in exit proceeds in Turkey markets, to date. Abraaj's close of the Turkey fund comes at a time when global credit rating agency Moody's is reviewing Turkey's bond ratings for a downgrade, post the failed coup in July 2016. Moody's has said in a recent statement that despite the failure of the coup, the agency is assessing the medium-term impact on Turkey's investor sentiment, and growth prospects. However, Selcuk Yorgancioglu, Partner and Regional Head of Turkey and Central Asia, The Abraaj Group remains optimistic, and said in a statement that given that it is underserved by private equity, the Turkish market presents opportunities for "smart capital to drive expansion among well-managed companies."
Related: The Abraaj Group Places Big Bets On Southeast Asia's E-commerce Sector
