Turkey's Halkbank pursuing secondary offering amid strong interest, CEO says

Turkey's third-largest state-owned lender, Halkbank, has ​launched an investor roadshow for a secondary public ​offering, its CEO said, pushing ahead despite ‌a ​local investment fund crisis amid strong investor interest.

Suleyman Ozdil told Reuters he did not expect the crisis to have a negative impact on the ‌offering, adding that Halkbank had met with nearly 60 investors in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and New York and seen strong interest. "There is no change to the planned share offering. We will launch at the ‌earliest opportunity, subject to market conditions," Ozdil said in an interview. He did not comment on the ‌possible size of the offering or exact dates.

Halkbank said in August that it had applied to Turkey's Capital Markets Board for a secondary public offering raising its nominal capital by 1.8 billion lira to 9 billion lira, two months after the ⁠dismissal of ​a US case launched ⁠in 2019 alleging it had evaded sanctions on Iran. Halkbank said after the dismissal that it expected its position in international markets ⁠to strengthen and its access to overseas funding to improve.

At current market prices, Halkbank's planned offering would raise around $1.7 ​billion, according to Reuters calculations. NO IMPACT EXPECTED FROM FUND CRISIS

Asked whether investors were concerned about ⁠the fund crisis, he said investors believed the market would emerge healthier from the turmoil. "They think the banking sector is healthy ⁠and ​valuations are cheap. They see the banking sector as the first place to look for investors seeking exposure to Turkey," he said.

Turkey's main share index entered a bear market and posted its worst ⁠monthly performance since 2008 in September after a selloff which was triggered by cash-strapped investment funds spread. Halkbank's SPO ⁠in 2012, raising around $2.5 ⁠billion, is still the biggest public offering in Turkey.

The Turkey Wealth Fund owns 91.5% of Halkbank, which has paid-in capital of 7.18 billion lira. The ‌remaining 8.5% is publicly ‌traded. ($1 = 49.1586 liras)