ISTANBUL (Dow Jones)--Twenty-three foreign and domestic firms purchased bid specifications in the tender for the sale of Baskent Dogalgaz AS, which distributes gas in the capital Ankara, the company's general manager Veysel Karani Demir said Friday, the Ihlas News Agency, or IHA, reported.
The tender is to take place on Feb. 26.
Demir told the IHA that RWE AG (RWE.XE) of Germany, Spain's Gas Natural SPD SA (GAS.MC), Bosphorus Gas, which is 40% owned by Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), the Suez group, Tractebel, and Gaz de France (1020848.FR)are among the international companies that purchased specifications.
Demir said Turkish companies which bought tender documents include textiles-to-white goods conglomerate Zorlu Holding AS, energy and construction company Turkerler Group, textiles-to-energy group Calik Holding, construction-to-finance conglomerate Nurol Group, construction firm Limak, construction firm Afken Holding AS, construction company Guris and Turkish army's pension fund Oyak Group.
Ankara's distribution grid, which feeds an annual consumption of 3 billion cubic metres, has nearly 1.1 million subscribers.
The privatisation of Turkey's natural gas distribution grids is part of a wider International Monetary Fund-backed sell-off programme. It was initially planned for early 2007 but has been hit by delays