Istanbul, February 18, 2005
—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement to acquire a minority stake in the share capital of Intercity, one of the leading vehicle fleet management companies in Turkey. This follows an earlier round of equity financing led by Turkven Private Equity Fund, a Turkish private equity fund in which IFC has invested.
IFC’s investment marks another important step in Intercity’s transformation since its founding in 1992 from a single person operation to a company with approximately 20 percent market share, 90 employees, 6,000 cars under management, and more than $20 million in annual revenue. The financing will strengthen Intercity’s long-term leasing of its vehicle fleet to a variety of private sector enterprises.
Khosrow Zamani, IFC’s director for Southeastern Europe and Central Asia, said, “IFC is pleased to support Intercity’s transformation from a medium-sized operation into one of Turkey’s leading operational leasing companies. We are committed to helping Turkey’s small and medium enterprises grow and to providing long-term financing for the local financial sector."
Jyrki Koskelo, IFC’s director for Global Financial Markets, added, “IFC has had a strong institution-building role in the development of Turkey’s financial markets. In strengthening one of the leading local operational leasing companies, we are continuing our support of the country’s private sector.”
Vural Ak, Intercity’s chief executive officer, noted, “We are extremely pleased about the successful partnership we have developed with IFC. They fully understand and appreciate our vision to create the leading vehicle operational leasing company in Turkey and have demonstrated their support through this very timely equity investment. We thank IFC for the confidence placed in us and look forward to continuing our good cooperation.”
Turkven managing director Seymur Tari added, “Intercity is well placed to leverage its market leadership and offer competitive prices driven by economies of scale. The company has established a good reputation among its customers. With the support of IFC, we will continue to play an important role in bringing international capital to Turkish companies like Intercity.”
The mission of IFC (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
