Carrefour leads bidders for Migros Turk

Turkey’s Koc group will this week receive takeover offers worth about US$4bn from a number of bidders, headed by French retail giant Carrefour, for 51% of Migros Turk, the biggest supermarket group in Turkey, the Financial Times reported.

Other bidders in the frame are Agrokor of Croatia and private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital and BC Partners, which has teamed up with Turkven, a Turkish buyout firm, the newspaper added.

Carrefour, the French supermarket group, which has a big joint venture in Turkey, is considered the favourite. “It is Carrefour’s for the taking,” one person familiar with the auction told the newspaper.

Second-round bids are due by Friday. The winner is expected to launch an offer for the outstanding shares of the retail group.