The sale by the Turkish city's government includes 52 vessels that transport more than 50 million people each year, across the Bosphorus and around the Sea of Marmaris. The chief executive of Stagecoach transport group used his investment company to lead the buyout. His investor group has a 30% stake in Istanbul Deniz Otobuslen (IDO) ferries.

Souter Investments is partnered by Ann Gloag, Sir Brian's sister and co-founder of Perth-based Stagecoach, Edinburgh financier Sir Angus Grossart and three Turkish-based companies, including the operator of the country's largest airport.

The sale, denominated in US dollars at $861m, includes 25 sea buses, 19 fast ferries and 17 conventional ferries.

There are nine inter-city and five inner-city lines serving 35 piers, with sales last year of £142m.

Lebanese lender Bank Audi is interested in acquiring Tekstilbank of Turkey, daily Sabah reported Thursday but did not say where it obtained the information. The newspaper also reported that Tevfik Bilgin, head of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, previously said some banks that “believe in Turkey's potential” may take their place in the market.

Bank Audi, owned by the Audi Saradar Group, is active in 11 countries. As of the first quarter of the year, its assets totaled $28.9 billion, while its consolidated net profit was $90.4 million.

In comparison, Tekstilbank has 44 branches and 75.5% of it is owned by GSD Holding, which is run by businessman Turgut Yılmaz. The rest of the bank is being publicly traded. Its asset size totals 2.7 billion Turkish Liras. Its net profits for the first quarter were at 5.6 million liras. Turgut Yılmaz is the brother of Mesut Yılmaz, a former prime minister.

The telecommunication sector in Turkey has grown at a rapid pace during the past few years, driven by government support and initiatives aimed at liberalization and privatization of the sector. Besides, other factors, such as favorable demographics coupled with rising disposable income and a desire to avail hi-tech telecom services have been fostering the growth of Turkish telecom market.

The authors have examined the Turkish mobile market and has found that it currently posses a lot of potential as the penetration rate was around 85% at the end of 2010. With the initiation of 3G services in Turkey, the telecom sector will witness significant changes in the coming years. With the rapidly improving mobile infrastructure and intense competition among the three mobile operators (Turkcell, Avea, and Vodafone), the mobile subscribers will grow at a CAGR of around 8% during 2011-2014 and the penetration rate will exceed 108% by 2014-end.