Turkish bagel maker sells 10 pct stake to Saudi group, plans IPO at London Stock Exchange

Sefer Levent - ISTANBUL

Saudi Arabia’s Fawaz Abdulaziz Al Hokair Group has bought a 10 percent stake in the Turkish chain Simit Sarayı, specializing in the bagel-like bread product known as “simit,” for reportedly $100 million.

Sources close to the matter told daily Hürriyet that Simit Sarayı was also in talks with global financial institutions for an initial public offering at the London Stock Exchange in 2018. 

The company, which makes $150 million exports on an annual basis and has operations in 21 countries, aims to reach more than $400 million in IPO revenue along with its Saudi partner, according to sources.

Simit Sarayı CEO Abdullah Kavukcu and his partners Haluk Okutur and Mehmet Tarakçı each have a 30 percent stake in the company, while the remaining 10 percent of their stake are now owned by the Saudi group.

In a statement on July 18, Simit Sarayı said the Senior Vice President of Fawaz Alhokair’s Group Abdul Majeed Alhokair will become a member of Simit Sarayı’s board of directors after the acquisition.

Fawaz Alhokair opened nearly 50 Simit Sarayı stores in the Middle East and North Africa regions in line with a master franchise agreement, which was signed between the two companies in 2014.

The Saudi group plans to open 250 more stores in the next four years, according to company statement.