Sberbank in the running to buy Turkey’s Garanti bank

By Ivan Anderzhanov

Russia's state-controlled Sberbank is bidding for a 20.85% stake in Garanti Bank, Turkey’s largest bank, along with six other possible contenders.

Sberbank is making a bid for a $3.7bn stake being sold by General Electric as part of its strategy of expanding overseas, according to a Reuters report today.

The state-savings bank has previously earmarked expansion in th former Soviet Union space but analysts see the establishment of a footprint in such a dynamic banking environment as Turkey to as a positive development.

In a analyst note today, Unicredit Securities, said: "Garanti trades at an attractive 2010E P/E of 8.9X and 2010E P/BV of less than 2X, compared to Sberbank’s P/E 17.4X and 2.2X respectively. An acquisition should be therefore be value-accretive."

By Ivan Anderzhanov Russia's state-controlled Sberbank is bidding for a 20.85% stake in Garanti Bank, Turkey’s largest bank, along with six other possible contenders. Sberbank is making a bid for a $3.7bn stake being sold by General Electric as part of its strategy of expanding overseas, according to a Reuters report today. The state-savings bank has previously ...