Istanbul, April 29 - The sale of a majority stake in Turkey's largest retailer Migros to private equity firm BC Partners is expected to be completed by the end of May, an executive at Migros owner Koc Holding said.
Omer Bozer, head of Koc Holding's retail and food group, told reporters the handover had been held up by the need for regulatory approval from several countries and other formalities.
The 1.98 billion lira ($1.54 billion) purchase of the 50.8 percent stake from Koc Holding, in what was Turkey's largest private equity deal, was approved by Turkey's Competition Board in March.
BC Partners said in February, when the deal was announced, that it would launch a tender for the remaining shares in Migros.
The sale is an important source of foreign direct investment (FDI), which Turkey needs to offset a large current account deficit.
Amid shrinking global liquidity, Treasury Undersecretary Ibrahim Canakci said earlier this month that FDI could miss the official forecast of $18.5 billion this year, compared with $22 billion last year.