Yes! For all English-speaking, technically-minded, gifted entrepreneurs as well as deal flow optimizers, VCs and angel investors for the Turkish market, good news has finally come - Webrazzi is now in English.

The "Techcrunch" of Turkey has been providing daily updates on the Turkish technology and startup scene since 2006. Arda Kutsal's very successful brain child Webrazzi appears to be doing well enough that he has finally branched out to the English speaking world - now called Webrazzi Global.

For those interested, the new link is:
Webrazzi Global
http://en.webrazzi.com/
Check it out!


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At the beginning of September, a contact from AIG sent a press release concerning the AIG Blue Voyage Fund - Turkey. As we all know, AIG has had some trouble of late, and it only seems natural that they should streamline their operations. Per the press release:

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has announced an agreement to sell a portion of its investment advisory and asset management business to Bridge Partners, L.P., a company owned by Pacific Century Group (PCG), the Hong Kong-based private investment firm. AIG is retaining its in-house investment operation that oversees approximately $480 billion of assets under management.

The purchase price of approximately $500 million consists of a cash payment of approximately $300 million at closing, plus additional future consideration that includes a performance note and a continuing share of carried interest.

"After conducting an extensive and rigorous auction process, we concluded that this transaction provides fair value for AIG and achieves the greatest long-term stability and potential for the business, its clients, business partners and employees," said Alain Karaoglan, AIG Senior Vice President - Divestiture.

The units being sold operate in 32 countries and manage approximately $88.7 billion of investments of institutional and retail clients across a variety of strategies, including private equity, hedge fund of funds, listed equities and fixed income. Win J. Neuger will continue as Chief Executive Officer of the new business and the existing management team will remain in place.

This transaction includes the Blue Voyage Fund. Managing Director Serkan Elden remains at AIG Investments. The Blue Voyage Fund link has been removed from the Index.

For other Grandstanding posts regarding AIG and the Blue Voyage Fund, click on the labels below.

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RHEA Investments, a London-baseded private investment and project development company in the fields of real estate, health, energy, agriculture, and financial services, has made a few moves in the last month that should position it for permanency in the Turkish environment. RHEA Investments established a foothold in Turkey in 2006 and have made successful investments on a MediaMarkt project in Izmir as well as continuing development of hotel projects in various Turkish cities.

Posted about a month ago on the Linkedin group - Venture Capital and Private Equity in Turkey, Memet Yazici, group leader Head of Asset Management at Rhea Investments, makes two announcements regarding the future direction of Rhea Investments. First and foremost last month, RHEA Investments announces that it has joined forces with Stowbridge Partners. According to the post:

"Stowbridge Partners and RHEA Investment Group are joining forces to launch a venture capital and private equity management as well as a corporate advisory unit under the RHEA name. Accordingly, Stowbridge venture capital management and corporate finance advisory practices will merge with the RHEA team.

The new entity will combine the strength of RHEA’s business in the real estate, energy and healthcare sectors with the Stowbridge Partners’ extensive experience in Venture Capital and Small/Medium Enterprise Private Equity. Both teams share the same vision to produce superior returns and the same dedication to excellent execution.

RHEA’s primary office is located in Istanbul, Turkey with additional offices in London (UK) Chicago, Illinois (US), Bucharest (Romania), Izmir (Turkey) and Dubai (UAE).

At Stowbridge Partners, managing partner Kurtay Ogunc will continue his leadership and identify new opportunities for cooperation and collaboration between U.S. and the EMEA region.

About a year ago, Stowbridge Partners was taken off Grandstanding Traction's index (right sidebar) due to inactivity, or rather "off the radar". As of this announcement, they have been added again. Memet Yazici is also a board member of Stowbridge Partners.

Days after, RHEA Investments made another announcement regarding its agreement to purchase 31.15 percent of Vakıfbank's private equity operation Vakıf Venture Capital Investments Trust.

As mentioned in the Hurriyet Daily News, "The 2.1 million Turkish Liras deal is pending the approval of Turkey's Capital Markets Board, or SPK, and is likely to be finalized by the end of 2009. Vakıf Venture Capital Investment Trust was established in 1996 and listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange in July 2000."

According to Memet Yazici on Linkedin, "RHEA has signed a definitive agreement with Vakif Bank to purchase all of the A type (controlling) and 6.15% B type (ordinary) shares of Vakif Risk Sermayesi Yatirim Ortakligi A.S. (Vakif Venture Capital Investment Trust), an Istanbul Stock Exhange listed joint stock company (stock code: “VKFRS” ). All of the remaining shares are trading on the ISE."

As quoted in the Hurriyet, "We will be particularly interested in cooperating with sector leaders, firms that are already first or second in their respective sectors, which have an ambitious global growth vision. Our goal is to grow the firms and exit them in some two to four years, like an average private equity investor would do," Yazıcı said. Rhea has already screened some 25 firms looking for an investment between 5 million and 20 million euros. "In addition to this, motivated by the construction of technoparks in Turkey in recent years, we are also planning to build a technology portfolio of some five companies," said Onur Takmak, Rhea Investment venture capital director.

Additional information can be obtained at: The New Energy World Network - Turkish renewable energy investment trust Rhea Investments acquires Vakif Risk Sermayesi Yatirim Ortakligi

Invest IQ - RHEA Buys controlling Share of Vakif Venture Capital

Rhea comes to Turkey with international corporate investors (TR)

Overall, this looks like a nice consolidation of the industry with some good heads at work. Vakif Girisim was looking to unload this subsidiary for some time now. In fact, Grandstanding Traction posted in 2008 an interview with CFK Partners who were intending the purchase the Vakif Girisim shares. CFK Halka Arz Partners website is still under construction, so this deal appears to have fallen through.


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That's right, this is the latest news about a very significant event. Scheduled for November 23 and 24 at the Hyatt Regency in Istanbul, Private Equity International and EMPEA are coordinating a Turkey Forum with the main sponsors being Turkven, the Actera Group and Abraaj Capital. Endeavor is also supporting the event. I know Golden Horn Ventures tried to do something like this a year ago, and it proved a valuable spearhead to get this type of conference moving in Turkey. While the event does not seem to be significant for venture capital or entrepreneurs seeking investment, it is good to see Turkey's prominent PE executives getting together to hash this one out. The agenda looks interesting, especially the panels that will discuss the great potential that the emerging market of Turkey will have for LPs and GPs. In addition take a look at this list of conference speakers:

Sarah Alexander, President, EMPEA
Achmed Al-Shahrabani, Senior Vice President, Abraaj Capital
Uğur Bayar, Managing Director & CEO, Credit Suisse Turkey
Mete Çakmakcı, TTGV
Murat Çavuşoğlu, Managing Partner, Actera Group
Can Deldag, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group
Serkan Elden, Managing Director, AIG Capital Partners
Saki Georgiadis, Investment Director, Gartmore Private Equity
Tolga Işmen, Lawyer, Ismen
Salim Kadıbeşegil, Chief Executive Officer, ORSA Strategic Communications Consultancy
David Nieuwendijk, Senior Investment Officer Private Equity, FMO
Murat Özgen, Chief Executive Officer, İş Private Equity
Carlos Perry, Chief Operating Officer, EMPEA
Jose Romano, Head of Turkey & Istabul Venture Capital Initiative, European Investment Fund
Nikos Stathopoulos, Managing Partner, BC Partners
Seymur Tari, Managing Director, Turkven
Selcuk Yorgancioglu, Executive Director & Turkey Country Head, Abraaj Capital
Birol Yücel, Managing Director, Turkven

For most of you who have followed Grandstanding Traction over the last few years, I think you can see the significance right away about what this conference means for Turkey and the growth of private equity. What I wouldn't give to be a potential GP with a private placement memo ready to go for this event. So for all those interested in putting together a fund, dust off your elevator pitch. Registration for the PEI Turkey Forum will cost you a pretty penny.

The question will remain, "Will those types of high net-worth individuals from Turkey come out for this event?" I encourage all who are interested in making investments in Turkey to attend this event. Private equity is cyclical, and Turkey has some thriving industries yearning for investment since the recent downturn. The website specifically states that all types of institutional investors will be given complementary tickets, so we can already see the potential waiting for GPs at this event. All the relavant players will be there - so should you.


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Can anyone tell me what the OYAK chief is talking about? Most likely another lousy report translated in English by our fine Hurriyet expose-journalists.

Export concepts, says OYAK chief

MARDIN - OYAK, Turkey’s leading pension fund which is active in automotive, steel, cement and energy, may ’export’the formula that made it a success over the past nine years, according to Chairman Coşkun Ulusoy. ’Imagine the name of any major private equity fund or pension fund worldwide, and I can guarantee you we are talking to them,’Ulusoy says.

At a time of plummeting exports amid global recession, the chairman of Turkey’s leading pension fund suggested a novel means to economic revival over the weekend: "export of concepts."

Selling a Turkish business model abroad might sound a bit far-fetched. But Coşkun Ulusoy, head of the military pension fund OYAK made it clear at his annual press briefing that this was the next project up his sleeve.

"Imagine the name of any major private equity fund or pension fund worldwide, and I can guarantee you we are talking to them," Coşkun told a gathering of business reporters and editors assembled at an OYAK’s Mardin Çimento cement factory in this historic city. "We can export concepts."

At the moment, OYAK’s exports are limited to cement, steel and cars and light trucks from its Renault-Mais division. Its 50-odd companies dominant in basic industries turned a profit of $2 billion last year and despite the harsh economic environment Ulusoy predicts the group will again be profitable this year.

But, he explained, the fund’s longer-term success may well come by selling the formula that made its remarkable success over the past nine years possible. That success, he argued, is in the fund’s unique daring to eschew the passive investment strategies of comparable pension funds in favor of a strategy of taking majority interest in firms, joining the management and actually running them.

"This is a unique model of success and its also uniquely Turkish," Ulusoy told an informal three-hour gathering. "If Turkey is going to export something, let’s export this model."

(I believe this is called private equity!?!)



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