Turkey to hire EY for landmark privatization deal

Turkey hired Ernst & Young LLP to lead a multibillion-dollar privatization of two landmark Istanbul bridges and a string of highways, according to people familiar with the matter.

The London-based firm will advise the government on the sale of operating rights to the 15 July Martyrs and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges — which connect Istanbul's European and Asian halves — as well as at least nine toll roads, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the details of the deal are private.

Turkey also appointed Canada-based BTY Group as a technical adviser to the sale and plans to launch a formal tender process later this year, the people added.

A 2012 attempt to privatize both bridges and 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) of highways drew a winning bid of $5.7 billion. The process later collapsed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then the country's prime minister, said a sale below $7 billion would amount to "treason." The government expects new bids in excess of that figure, the people said.

EY and BTY didn't respond to requests for comment. Turkey's Treasury & Finance Ministry couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Some of the details around the advisers were reported earlier by Mergermarket.

Around 430,000 vehicles cross the two bridges every day, Turkey's Transport Minister said in July, with a standard car paying a toll of 59 liras ($1.36) each way, according to the latest fares. 

EY, one of the so-called Big Four accounting and auditing firms alongside Deloitte LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and KPMG LLP, has previously advised on bridge, highway and hospital projects in Turkey, according to its website.