Istanbul, May 8 - An IPO for the Turkish unit of Coca Cola has been priced at 7.25 lira ($5.48) a share, near the top of an initial range, and the deal was more than 10 times oversubscribed, sources close to the deal said on Monday.
The price values the deal, for about 20 percent of the firm, at up to $320 million, including an overallotment option. The initial range was 6-7.5 lira.
It was announced on the same day as Islamic lender Bank Asya said its smaller $160 million IPO had been priced at the top of its initial range, and the deal had been almost 50 times oversubscribed.
It is the third attempt by Coca Cola's Turkish unit to list on the stock market after the last deal was pulled at the end of 2004.
But since then Turkey, a European Union candidate, has been attracting more foreign investment, and the company has also changed.
Coca Cola Icecek became the biggest bottler of soft drinks in Turkey and central Asia last year after buying a 51.9 percent stake in Efes Sinai Yatirim Holding from its main stakeholder Anadolu Efes.
The company, which posted a 15 percent rise in sales in 2005 to $1.2 billion, also has businesses in Jordan and northern Iraq, where it is considering expanding.
Foreign investors will be allocated 68 percent of the offer, 29 percent will go to local investors, 2 percent to local institutions and 1 percent to employees, the firm said.
Recent IPOs in Turkey, which is targeting 5 percent economic growth this year, have had mixed results. Vestel White Goods stock has fallen below its offer price since last month's IPO, while shares in pharmaceutical distributor Selcuk Ecza have risen about 30 percent since their listing.
Turkey's main share index closed up 1.1 percent on Monday, bringing its rise so far this year to 12.4 percent.