Banking & Finance ADQ in talks to buy Turkish lender Odeabank By Pramod Kumar August 14, 2024, 6:06 AM Reuters/Cagla Gurdogan Turkish lender Odeabank, established by Bank Audi in 2012, holds assets valued at $2.6 billion Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ is in discussions to buy Turkish lender Odeabank as it seeks to expand its international footprint. The fund has been engaged in talks over the past few months to buy the bank owned by Lebanon’s Bank Audi SAL, Bloomberg reported quoting informed sources. However, the report said that no final decision has been made and there’s no certainty that ADQ will proceed with the acquisition. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week Odeabank, established by Bank Audi in 2012, holds assets valued at 87.3 billion liras ($2.6 billion). Bank Audi owns the largest stake in the bank at 76 percent. In May Koç Holding confirmed it is in talks with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) over the sale of a majority holding in the Istanbul-headquartered lender Yapı Kredi. In October Dubai Islamic Bank ventured into Turkey’s digital banking and financial technology arena by acquiring a 20 percent stake in Istanbul-based TOM Group. Abu Dhabi’s ADQ buys minority stake in Sotheby’s ADQ: how Abu Dhabi’s ‘baby’ fund is finding its feet Turkey signs $50bn deals with UAE to revive economy AGBI reported in February that GCC-based banks have 2,156 branches in Turkey, citing figures from Marmore Mena Intelligence, a subsidiary of Kuwait Financial Centre. For comparison, banks in the region have 1,147 branches in Pakistan, 745 in Egypt and just 56 in the US and Europe.
