Members of families that own Turkey’s two biggest groups of companies sold stakes in their respective groups for a combined sum of more than €500mn as the benchmark Turkish stock exchange index hit a record high on May 24. The sales made by the Koc and Sabanci family members prompted speculation that a possible retreat of index prices could be on the cards.

Koc family members sold a 4.22% stake in largest Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding to foreign investors for an estimated TRY1.7bn (€424mn) at TRY15.87 (€3.97) per share via private placements, according to a May 25 bourse filing.

Meanwhile, Turkish brokerage house Unlu & Co told Bloomberg that Sabanci family members, owners of Turkey’s second largest conglomerate Sabanci Holding, sold a stake in the holding to 21 foreign institutional investors for €90mn, according to local media.

Defying Turkey’s political and economic turbulence, the Istanbul stock exchange’s benchmark BIST-100 index has been registering record-high levels without any single logical explanation.

At the close on May 24, the BIST-100 stood at 98,314, a record high representing a 26% y/y increase. Koc Holding shares were up 0.12% d/d or 29.14% y/y to TRY17.02 at end-May 24 while Sabanci Holding shares were up 0.73% d/d or 22.25% y/y to TRY11.10.

Demand for the Sabanci stake was 1.8 times higher than the sold stake while the price was 4% lower than the TRY11.10 closing price of May 24.

Koc family members' direct stake in Koc Holding declined to 11.67% from 15.42% following the share sale, while the conglomerate’s free-float stake on the Istanbul stock exchange increased to 26.46%. The Koc family also controls 64.76% of Koc Holding indirectly.

Koc family members have provided a guarantee that they will not sell any additional stakes in the coming 180 day-period, according to the bourse statement on the share sale.

The sellers of the Koc shares included the Istanbul-based conglomerate’s honorary chairman Rahmi Mustafa Koc, chairman Omer Koc, deputy chairman Ali Koc and Caroline Koc, the widow of late chairman Mustafa Koc.

Koc Holding has interests in companies in industries ranging from automaking to defence, banking and energy. It had a market capitalisation of $12.1bn as of May 24, the highest on the Istanbul exchange.