General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) may sell its 21% stake in Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, Turkey’s largest listed bank in three weeks, according Garanti Chief Executive Officer Ergun Ozen.
The deals of the sale will likely become clear by mid-April, Ozen told reporters in Istanbul on Friday. Ozen noted that due diligence, the part of the sale where potential buyers look at the financial statements of the bank, has not begun yet.
General Electric said in February that it is “considering strategic options” for the stake in Garanti and has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) to advise on the possible sale.
Among the parties interested in buying Turkiye Garanti Bankasi from General Electric include Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA of Italy and various investment funds from the Middle East, according to various reports from Turkish newspapers over the last month.
Garanti’s market value currently sits at about $20 billion U.S. or 30.5 billion liras, according to its most recent share price, making GE’s share of the company worth about $4.2 billion.
