Çalık Holding

Çalık Holding
Private
Industry Textile, energy, construction, finance, media, telecom and mining
Founded 1997 Istanbul, Turkey
Founder Ahmet Çalık
Headquarters Istanbul, Turkey
Key people
 Ahmet Çalık (chairman)
Berat Albayrak (CEO)
Revenue Increase US$2.8bn[1]
Total assets Increase US$8bn[1]
Number of employees
 20,000[1]
Website www.calik.com

Çalık Holding AŞ is a Turkish conglomerate based in Istanbul, active in the sectors of textiles, energy, construction, finance, logistics and media. Through its ventures in and outside of Turkey, Çalık employs around 20,000 people (December 2008).[1][2] The CEO of Çalık Holding, Berat Albayrak, is the son-in-law of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[3]

Çalık Holding, operating in a region extending from Central Asia to North Africa and from Middle East to the Balkans, has approximately US$2.8 billion annual turnover. The Group's consolidated assets are worth approximately US$8 billion and is currently working on a US$20 billion project portfolio.[1] The leading companies of the group are GAP Güneydoğu Tekstil, Çalık Enerji, Eagle Mobile, Albtelecom, Banka Kombetare Tregtare, GAP İnşaat, Aktif Yatırım Bankası and GAP Pazarlama.

History

The Çalık family entered the textile industry around 1930. In 1980 the family founded Ortadoğu Tekstil Tic. ve San AŞ, which was to be the basis for the present-day Çalık conglomerate.[4] Çalık Holding was founded in 1997 by Ahmet Çalık, who remains the Chairman.[5]

Sectors

Textiles

Çalık's background is in textiles, with the family's involvement in the sector dating to the 1930s. The first company, Ortadoğu Tekstil, was set up by Ahmet Çalık in 1981; Gap Güneydoğu Tekstil, for denim fabric, was set up in 1987. It later expanded into overseas production, with factories set up in Turkmenistan from 1997.[6]

Media

Çalık Group incorporated Albtelecom, the landline operator and Internet supplier of Albania, in 2007.

In 2008 Çalık acquired the Turkuvaz Media Group, which owns the Sabah newspaper and ATV television station, from the government's TMSF. The $1.1bn sale aroused substantial controversy in Turkey, not least because it was partially financed by $750m of loans from two state banks, VakıfBank and Halkbank,[7] and was sold for the minimum price, with Çalık the sole bidder.[8] A Turkish law limiting foreign ownership to 25% of media assets is believed to have contributed.[8] The acquisition was also financed with a 25% investment from Qatar allegedly lobbied for by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This caused controversy due to the closeness to Erdoğan of Çalık's chairman (Ahmet Çalık, a "close associate" according to The Economist) and CEO (Berat Albayrak, Erdoğan's son-in-law).[9][6][10]

Turkuvaz' properties include the newspapers Sabah (since 2008), Takvim, Yeni Aktüel and Pas Fotomaç, and the television station ATV (since 2008). In 2012 Çalık attempted to sell the group.[11]

Energy

See also: Çalık Enerji

Çalık Enerji was set up in 1998, with projects including the Samsun–Ceyhan pipeline.[6]

Çalık acquired Yesilırmak Electricity Distribution Inc. (YEDAS), which operates the electricity distribution in 5 major cities of Turkey, in 2010.[12]

Finance

Çalıkbank was set up in 1999; it was renamed Aktif Yatırım Bankası in 2008.[6]

60% of Albania's Banka Kombetare Tregtare was acquired in 2006, and the remainder in 2009.[6]

Other

In 2012, Çalık Holding completed the construction of a new power plant in Iraq. Another one will be completed soon. Together, they will provide 2,000 MW, with a potential capacity of 4,500 MW.[13] The company has also been involved in the construction of a Dental Hospital and an Eye Hospital in Turkmenistan with a capacity of 120 beds.

Çalık Holding has established international collaborations with companies including Rosneft, Initec Energia, Eni, Mitsubishi, EBRD, EWE, General Electric, Alacer Gold and Qatar Holdings.

Çalık Holding signed joint venture agreements with Alacer Gold, Çalık Holding's partner in the Çöpler Gold Mine in Iliç, Erzincan, for 16 properties located in different cities in Turkey. Holding owns 50% of the three companies established for this purpose. Total gold production in Erzincan's currently operating Çöpler Gold Mine exceeded 185 thousand ounces in 2011.

Controversy

In 2014, phone recordings between the Turkish Prime Minister, father-in-law of the CEO of Calik Holding, and his son were published. In these phone calls, controversial conversations were made and it is believed that the PM is attempting to hide a suspiciously large amount of money, and he and his son makes references of moving it to Berat, and to Calik. The Prime Ministers son also states that Berat Albayrak (CEO) makes suggestions as to what moves to make with the money, suggesting he had an active involvement.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Çalık, The ÇALIK signature in 7 different sectors in 17 countries…
  2. ↑ Sabah, 23 February 2009, A credit rating of 'BBB (Trk)'
  3. ↑ Milliyet, 30 March 2007, Berat Albayrak, Çalık Holding Genel Müdürü oldu
  4. ↑ (Turkish) piramitmenkul.com.tr: Statistics and history of Çalik Holding.
  5. ↑ calik.com
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Çalık, Milestones
  7. ↑ Çalık Holding press release, 22 April 2008, ÇALIK HOLDING ACQUIRES ATV-SABAH
  8. 1 2 Reuters, 12 January 2008, Turkey eyes reform of media ownership law -paper
  9. ↑ The Economist, 8 May 2008, Circulation wars
  10. ↑ Hurriyet Daily News, 2008, Turk opposition wants PM censured over media sale
  11. ↑ Reuters, 30 January 2012, News Corp among 3 bidders for Calik media: sources
  12. ↑ Sabah, 31 December 2010, ÇALıK HOLDING ERA FOR YEDAŞ
  13. ↑ Çalık Holding: Çalık Enerji signs on to Iraq’s electricity
  14. ↑ Zaman Turkiye bu ses kayitlarinin konusuyor

External links

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