‘Gazprom, Marubeni, Turkish firms eye Istanbul gas grid sale’
Turkey will start the sale of Istanbulâs Ä°GDAÅ gas grid this month, with Russiaâs Gazprom, Japanâs Marubeni Corp and Turkeyâs Enerya and Aygaz among the interested bidders, sources close to the process have said.
The Ä°GDAÅ network serves more than 5 million customers in Turkeyâs largest city and sold 5 billion cubic meters of gas last year, generating 4.6 billion Turkish Liras ($2 billion) of revenue and a 279 million lira net profit.
âAppetite is huge for the distribution network of a city with the most consumption in the country. A lot of companies are waiting for the tender advertisement,â one of the sources familiar with the privatization plans said.
Natural gas distributor Enerya confirmed it was interested in the Ä°GDAÅ sale. Gazprom did not respond to calls seeking comment, while officials at trading house Marubeni were not immediately available to comment.
Liquefied propane gas company Aygaz said it would make a decision after seeing the tender documents.
âThe Turkish government is putting two very valuable assets up for sale in the market - Ä°GDAÅ and the highways and bridges - to test investorsâ appetite,â a second source close to the privatization process told Reuters.
âGazprom, Enerya, Marubeni and Aygaz are among the interested bidders (for Ä°GDAÅ),â the source said.
Banking and government sources told Reuters on Nov. 3 that Turkey was also reviving plans to privatize two bridges across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul and some motorways and aims to start the process by the first quarter of 2015.
A draft law regulating Turkeyâs natural gas market, which includes clauses regarding the privatization of Ä°GDAÅ, is still before parliament, a second...
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