A unit of Turkish tourism company Net Holding has won a privatisation tender to operate the country’s national lottery for 10 years for $2.76bn.
Net Sans-Hitay secured the tender above two competitors –Czech investment groups KKCG and Emma Capital, who made a combined bid, and Italian provider GTech S.p.A.
While the tender was won on Tuesday, Reuters reports that the country’s privatisation administration has said it now has to be given final approval by Turkey’s privatisation and competition boards as well as by a high court.
Turkey had planned to privatise the lottery in 2009 but the idea was scrapped after two bidders failed to meet the $1.6bn minimum asking price. Instead it opted to sell licences for games operated by the lottery.
