Turkey’s biggest tourism portal, Tatilsepeti.com, has received an investment from London-based investment trust Bancroft Private Equity. Bancroft has become the fourth shareholder of Tatilsepeti.com, and has announced that the company will continue to be managed by the founding partners. The financial aspect of the investment process was managed by Ventura Partners and the legal aspect by Gemicioglu Law Office.
A first in the Turkish internet sector
Underlining the fact that Bancroft’s investment is the first foreign investment in a Turkish tourism portal, Tatilsepeti.com’s Chairman of Board, Kaan Karayal, stated: “With over 18 million annual visitors, 10 million of which are unique visitors, we are the leading tourism portal in Turkey. With the strategic cooperation of Bancroft, we believe that the Tatilsepeti.com brand will rank among the major international tourism portals. We will not make any changes in our management, nor will there will be any structural change, but we will make our already solid financial base even stronger.”
Karayal emphasized that Bancroft, which focuses mainly on Central and Eastern Europe, has chosen Tatilsepeti.com as its first investment in the Turkish online market, and continued: “Bancroft has made many important partnerships in Europe since 1996, and with their choice of Tatilsepeti.com in Turkey, we feel encouraged that we are on the right path. ?enol Aktüre from Ventura Partners, which is among the most experienced companies in its field, and Bora Gemicio?lu from Gemicioglu Law Office have made positive contributions during this process by guiding us with their experience.”
Levent Aydınoglu, Bancroft’s representative in Turkey, said that, managing 250 million EUR funds since its foundation, Tatilsepeti.com is the company’s fifth investment in Turkey. It follows investments in Standard Profil, Kayalar Kimya, Eko Finans Faktoring and Graniser. He continued: “Holiday makers in Turkey carry out 80 per cent of their holiday research online. Research shows that the first portal that comes to the holiday-makers’ minds is Tatilsepeti.com. We believe that with this investment we will push the potential of this portal even further.” Ayd?no?lu indicated that the investment they have made is not only for the benefit of the company but also for the current management and staff, and they will do their best to make sure that the current harmony continues.
Kaynak : 