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Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to acquire 96% of Turkey’s Odea Bank

Odeabank is Turkey’s 13th largest private conventional bank

Published: Tue 15 Oct 2024, 10:16 PM

By
Issac John

ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, has signed an agreement to acquire 96 per cent of the share capital of Odea Bank, a subsidiary of Bank Audi, a leading Turkey bank.

Odeabank is Turkey’s 13th largest private conventional bank by total gross loans and customer deposits. It operates 41 branches in 15 cities across the country and employs some 1,300 people as of the end of June 2024.

Bank Audi and other investors, which include International Finance Corporation, IFC FIG Investment Company Sarl, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), have agreed to sell their respective interests in the share capital of Odeabank to ADQ as part of the agreement. The value of the acquisition has not been revealed.

“The acquisition of Odeabank reinforces our commitment to investing in assets that lay the foundation for the sustainable development of our portfolio companies as well as the wider economy. As part of ADQ, Odeabank will have access to fresh capital, which will allow the company to unlock synergies with our wider portfolio, underpinned by attractive market dynamics in Turkey,” said Mansour AlMulla, deputy group chief executive officer at ADQ. “We are confident that this will accelerate the execution of Odeabank’s growth plans, while driving technological innovation in the financial services sector.”

Khalil El Debs, CEO of Bank Audi, said the deal aligns well with Bank Audi Group’s present strategic focus on its home market as well as its presence in Europe. “We are pleased to have attracted the interest of a global institution like ADQ in acquiring Odea Bank A.Ş., our Turkish subsidiary.”

In 2022, ADQ launched a $300 million fund together with Turkey Wealth Fund, which invests in companies developing emerging technologies or improving existing technologies in key sectors. In the same year, ADQ acquired the leading Turkish pharmaceuticals company Birgi Mefar Group, which has since become part of ADQ’s wholly owned global life sciences holding company Arcera. In 2023, ADQ signed two memoranda of understanding with the country to deepen bilateral relations and contribute to its economic development.

ADQ’s expansive portfolio spans key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s rapidly diversifying economy, including energy and utilities, food and agriculture, healthcare and life sciences, and transport and logistics, amongst others. Its Financial Services cluster also encompasses the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Wio Bank.