Socar Sells Stake in Turkish Petchem Giant

Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company Socar has sold a small chunk of its stake in Turkey's petrochemical giant, Petkim for lire 147mn ($51mn). Socar's shares in Petkim are held through its subsidiary, Socar Turkey Enerji. 

Petkim Petrokimiya Holdings holds a monopoly on the main petrochemical products in Turkey, a quarter of which are exported.

According to Turkey's Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) on which all listed companies are required to publicly disclose any announcements or deals, Socar Turkey Enerji has sold a 2.75% stake, leaving it with 56.32%.

Company sources close to the deal said that by selling part of its stake in Petkim, Socar Turkey Enerji aims to cash in on a rise in Petkim's share price. The buyer is “an international holding” company, the sources said.

"This is a business transaction," a source said. "We sold each share for 2.5 times more than its purchase price and gained significant profit. That will re-invested into Petkim."

According to other sources, Socar's latest deal corresponds with the Azerbaijani government's plans to reduce spending from the state oil fund (Sofaz), including from the the Star refinery currently in development by Socar in Turkey, because of a decreasing cash flow into the fund caused by low oil prices in the market.

Petkim assets rose 44% for 2015 compared to 2014 and stand at lire 5.46bn (€1.7bn) as of March.

Kama Mustafayeva