Aksoy Group, the founder of sahibinden.com, Turkey's most visited e-commerce platform with over 2 billion monthly page views, is aiming to support promising internet projects through its newly established "Aksoy Internet Ventures".

Aksoy Group Vice-Chairman Taner Aksoy said "We founded sahibinden.com in 2000, and the Turkish information technology sector has developed and undergone a major change since then. It's a great pleasure for us to witness the whole process, especially after having secured a place among the most experienced companies. Nowadays, without a doubt, raising funds for the right project will not be so difficult in such a promising sector. Our differentiation will be to share our vision and experience on top of our financial support. Shortly, Aksoy Internet Ventures brings 'smart money' "

Aksoy said the company was willing to invest in a portfolio of companies diversifying risk. "We are primarily considering investing in Turkey. We may get involved in projects that directly target foreign markets, as well as those that are extending from Turkey to abroad." Investors who share a common vision with Aksoy Internet Ventures will also have the opportunity to co-invest in these new projects, the group said.

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.