THE RECORD PACE of deal-making in Turkey – a refinery changing hands here, a steel plant on the block there – has Vural Akisik, chairman of Turkey’s largest petrol retailer, Petrol Ofisi, and a reputed deal-maker, pondering what might have been and how things have changed beyond recognition. Akisik is the acknowledged architect of last spring’s sale of Turkey’s Disbank to Belgium’s Fortis for a then head-turning $1.1 billion.
The topic of deals puts Akisik into the mood of the old track star reflecting on the Olympic final he almost made. In place of rummaging through a box of medals, he pulls a dusty Salomon Brothers prospectus from 1989 off the shelf. He finds another from Credit Suisse First Boston from 1990. That long ago both firms envisaged the sale of Turkey’s sprawling state steel...
