Türkiye Private Equity | ESAS HOLDİNG

Portfolio

Pegasus Airlines

Aviation

https://www.flypgs.com/

Pegasus is the leading low-cost airline in Turkey, providing reasonably-priced flights on short and medium range routes.

Investment Status: Partially Exited

Investment Date: January 2005

Sector: Aviation

Location: Turkey

Ayakkabı Dünyası

Retail

https://www.ayakkabidunyasi.com.tr/

Ayakkabı Dünyası is one of the largest footwear retailers in Turkey

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: February 2014

Sector: Retail

Location: Turkey

MacFit

Health Club

https://www.macfit.com/

MAC is the leading health club operator in Turkey and operates the MacFit, MAC/One and NuSpa brands.

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: August 2010

Sector: Health Club

Location: Turkey

Korozo

Packaging

https://www.korozo.com.tr/

Korozo is one of the largest packaging manufacturers globally and is the leader in the Turkish flexible packaging market with a well-diversified product portfolio in kitchen consumables, personal care packaging, carrier / cargo bags and in-mould labels.

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: March 2017

Sector: Packaging

Location: Turkey

Getir

Online Groceries

https://getir.com/

Getir is the pioneer in on-demand “ultrafast” delivery service for grocery items, restaurant food deliveries and cab-hailing, operating through various different sub-services such as Getir10, GetirMore, GetirWater, GetirLocals, GetirFood and GetirBiTaksi

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: January 2021

Sector: Online Groceries

Location: Turkey

Libra Softworks

Gaming

https://www.librasoftworks.com/

Libra Softworks is a leading Turkish mobile game development and publishing company established in January 2017 in Istanbul. Developed and published in house, Libra’s flagship game -Joy Blast- is a physics-based blast match-3 game aiming for global launch in 2023

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: December 2021

Sector: Gaming

Location: Turkey

Insider

B2B SaaS

Turkey

Founded in 2012, Insider is a founder-led B2B SaaS company leveraging AI and a cutting edge platform to provide an end-to-end solution for marketers, allowing them to understand, target and engage their audiences across all channels

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: February 2022

Sector: B2B SaaS

Location: Turkey

Appsilon Enterprise

Advanced Materials

https://www.appsilonscientific.com/

Founded in 2017, Appsilon is an advanced materials company with offices in Istanbul and Delft, the Netherlands. The Company works in the rapidly evolving field of conflict-free and sustainable lab-grown diamonds focusing on two core competencies, top-quality and cost-effectiveness

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: July 2022

Sector: Advanced Materials

Location: Turkey

OPLOG

E-Logistics

https://www.oplog.io/

OPLOG is a technology-enabled e-commerce fulfilment and robotics company with a mission to offer ‘top quality’ storage and fulfilment and speed to small & medium-sized enterprises to help them remain competitive against global competitors

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: August 2022

Sector: E-Logistics

Location: Turkey

Flormar

https://www.flormar.com/

Flormar is one of Turkey's leading color cosmetics brands, known for its extensive product range and affordable prices.

Investment Status: In Portfolio

Investment Date: September 2024

Sector: Cosmetics

Location: Turkey

Select Exits

Pegasus Airlines

AT A GLANCE

INVESTMENT OVERVIEW
Pioneer of the low cost carrier model in Turkey and fastest growing airline in Europe serving 76 international and 35 domestic locations with 84 aircrafts Esas PE acquired Pegasus in Jan 2005

EXIT OVERVIEW

In April 2013, Pegasus IPO’ed on the Turkish Stock Exchange at a valuation of $1.2 billion; sold 35% of issued shares, generating 13.9x MoM return for Esas PE

ESAS PE’s VALUE ADD

Analyzed the low cost carrier model globally and customized it to the Turkish market
Established Continuous Improvement Processes to optimize costs on an ongoing basis
Invested heavily in e-commerce; boosted profitability by enhancing pricing and focusing on ancillary revenues
Experienced management team supported by seasoned non-executive board members
Mark Griffiths (former COO of Virgin Atlantic), Saad Hammad (former CEO of Flybe), Raymond Webster (former CEO of easyJet), Conor McCarthy (former operations director of Ryanair), Moritz Sater (founder of CrossAir)
Superior operating performance versus domestic competitors: higher utilization rates, excellent “on time” records and significant cost advantage over Turkish Airlines
Created company-wide awareness of targeted KPIs and linked to employee incentivisation

INDUSTRY: Aviation
INVESTMENT DATE: Jan 2005
EXIT DATE: April 2013

+23%

CAGR of number of passengers from 2009 to 2019

30.5m

Number of passengers who flew with Pegasus in 2019

13.9x

Esas PE Return

Mars Cinema Group

AT A GLANCE

INVESTMENT OVERVIEW

Mars Cinema Group is one of the largest movie exhibitors in Europe and the market leader in Turkey

EXIT

Sold to CJ Group of South Korea for a total consideration of US$ 800m, one of the largest private equity exits in Turkey

ESAS PE’s VALUE ADD

Grew the Company to become the market leader in box office, cinema advertising and movie distribution
Merged AFM and Mars Cinema in one of the largest mergers in Turkey
Public to private transaction in Turkey where minority shareholders were squeezed out
Increased the number of locations from 45 to 83 and grew admissions from 12 million to 26 million
Started cinema advertising and movie distribution businesses, where both businesses became respective market leaders
Established movie production business and subsidized local content to increase market size
Increased capacity utilization with effective film programming and decreased summer seasonality by optimizing release calendar
Converted the network to fully digital with nationwide IMAX exclusivity
Strengthened the management team by adding executives with extensive international experience
Invested in CRM and created membership base of 1.7 million

INDUSTRY:Retail & Leisure
INVESTMENT DATE:Aug 2010
EXIT DATE:June 2016

+33%

Revenue CAGR over 5 years (including M&A)

26 MN

Admissions grew from 12 million to 26 million in 6 years

4.8x

Esas PE Return

Peyman

AT A GLANCE

INVESTMENT OVERVIEW

Peyman is the leading player in the dried fruit, nuts and seeds market in Turkey, a rapidly evolving segment of the FMCG sector In Mar 2008, Esas PE acquired a minority stake with controlling rights, becoming the largest single shareholder

EXIT

In June 2016, the Company was sold to Bridgepoint, U

ESAS PE’s VALUE ADD

Identified and delivered results on 50+ improvement initiatives
Modernized the manufacturing facilityand increased production capacity
Developed nationwide brand awarenesswith extensive TV campaigns
Strengthened the management team,by hiring executives with extensive experience
Created four new sub-brands in order to target different consumer preferences
Launched 21 new products and introduced zip-locked packs
Re-designed the distributorship modeland increased sales outlets from 28,000 to 44,000
Establishedstrong presence in national and local retailers
Diversified the Company’s financing sources

INDUSTRY:Consumer
INVESTMENT DATE:Mar 2008
EXIT DATE:May 2016

+37%

EBITDA CAGR from 2012 to 2015

44,000

Number of traditional sales outlets reached through improved distribution structure

3.4x

Return generated by the sale for Esas

U.N. RoRo

AT A GLANCE

INVESTMENT OVERVIEW

UN Ro-Ro is the largest roll-off / rollon operator in the Mediterranean, providing fully-integrated transport solutions for the logistics sector, carrying almost a third of the truckable trade volume between Turkey and Europe

EXIT

In June 2018, the Company was sold to DFDS Group in Denmark for €950 million

ESAS PE’s VALUE ADD

Re-designed the organization structureand created a performance culture
Institutionalized the sales functionand adopted a customer-centric approach, increasing customer retention
Acquired new customers in the UK and North Africa throughdestination-based pricingand by deploying a third vessel on the France route
Expanded the inter-modal train connections from the Trieste port to various European destinations
Extended the concession periodof the Trieste port for 25 years
Lengthened two vesselswhich extended capacity by 23% with minimal increase in bunker consumption
Increased EBITDA by over 31% (in € terms)by adding capacity and increasing utilization
Reduced leverage from 9.0x to 4.5xby disciplined spending, growing EBITDA and non-core asset divestitures

INDUSTRY:Logistics
INVESTMENT DATE:Sept 2014
EXIT DATE:June 2018

+5%

Volume CAGR over 3 years, outperforming market growth of 3%

82%

Capacity utilization rate increased by 5%

3.7x

Esas PE Return

Investment Committee

ALİ SABANCI

Chairperson Esas Holding

Ali Sabancı is Member of the Board of Pegasus Airlines and vice chairperson of Mars Sportif which are part of the Esas Private Equity portfolio. He also serves on the board of Esas Properties.

Ali is one of the co-founders of Esas Social, which was established to facilitate sustainable social investment. He focuses on increasing awareness of entrepreneurship in Turkey. As the president of the Young Entrepreneurs Board in the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), he has led successful projects including Angel Investing Legislation, Global Entrepreneurship Congress, G3 Forum, Global Entrepreneurship Week and TIM Innovation Week - Born Global. He is also an angel investor in more than 25 start-up companies.

Ali is a member of the Turkish American Business Association and the Turkish Family Business Association. In 2018 he was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by the French government for his contributions to economic relations between Turkey and France.

Ali Sabancı earned his M.B.A. degree with a major in International Finance from Columbia Business School and B.A. degree in Politics and Economics from Tufts University.

H. ÇAĞATAY ÖZDOĞRU

Member of the Board & CEO Esas Holding

Çağatay Özdoğru oversees all of Esas’ business segments including real estate, private equity, venture capital and wealth management, and serves on their investment committees. He is a board member of Esas Properties and various private equity portfolio companies including Pegasus Airlines, Mars Athletic, Korozo and Ayakkabı Dünyası.

Çağatay joined Esas Holding in 2005 as an executive board member. He played a major role in establishing Esas Private Equity where he served as CEO since 2010, until transitioning to his current role in 2019. He led a number of Esas’ private equity investments and exits of various portfolio companies including UN Ro-Ro, Mars Cinema Group and Peyman.

Previously, Çağatay was the president of IT & Telecommunications Investments at Sabancı Holding. Prior to that, he held various positions at France Telecom Group, where he last served as the executive vice president of the REEMEA region. He was also a member of the Global Operating Committee.

In 2020, Çağatay was appointed as the chairman of Turkey - France Business Council at DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Council) and Independent Board Member of Fenerbahçe Football A.S in 2021. Çağatay is also a member of the Board of Directors at Tüsiad, Turkish Business & Industry Association as of April 2022. Previously, he served as the chairman of Turkey - Sweden Business Council and Turkey - Croatia Business Council, and board member of TBV (Turkey IT Foundation) and TUBISAD (Turkey IT Industry Association).

Çağatay Özdoğru earned his M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University, where he received the Hall of Fame Award for Alumni in 2016, and B.S. degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.

CUMHUR KUŞÇUOĞLU

Managing Director & Head of Turkish Private Equity

Cumhur Kuşçuoğlu is a Senior Director and the Head of Turkish Private Equity and serves on the Private Equity Investment Committees.

Prior to joining Esas in 2009, Cumhur worked as a Director in the MENA Buyout Fund of the Carlyle Group. From 2002 to 2007, he was a Director at EY, supervising the M&A Advisory Services team in Turkey and Southeast Europe. Cumhur started his career in the Audit Department of Arthur Andersen where he worked for six years.

Mr. Kuşçuoğlu earned his B.A. degree in Economics from Boğaziçi University.

Cumhur Kuşçuoğlu served on the boards of Mars Cinema Group and UN Ro-Ro until exit and sits on the boards of Mars Sportif, Ayakkabı Dünyası, Bonservis and OPLOG.

CAN DELDAĞ

Investment Committee Member

Can Deldağ is an Independent Investment Committee Member of Esas Turkish Private Equity.

In his career, Can worked as Managing Director and Co-Head for Mideast and North Africa Operations buyout team at The Carlyle Group. Prior to his joining Carlyle Group in 2007, Mr. Deldağ was a Partner at Ernst & Young, where he joined in 2002, following the merger of Ernst & Young and Andersen, as a Head of Transaction Advisory Services for Turkey and Head of M&A Services for Southeast Europe. Prior to this, he was leading the mergers and acquisitions Division in Andersen. He began his career with Arthur Andersen in 1989.

Mr. Deldağ earned his B.A. degree in Management Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.

Team

CUMHUR KUŞÇUOĞLU

Managing Director & Head of Turkish Private Equity

Cumhur Kuşçuoğlu is a Senior Director and the Head of Turkish Private Equity and serves on the Private Equity Investment Committees.

SEÇKİN TABAK

Senior Investment Director

Seçkin Tabak is a Senior Director in the Turkish Private Equity team. Since joining Esas, Mr. Tabak has been involved in various Esas investments including Getir, Insider, Appsilon Enterprise and OPLOG. He currently serves on the boards of Appsilon Enterprise and OPLOG and is a board observer of Insider.

Prior to joining Esas, Mr. Tabak was a Director at Actera Group, an Istanbul-based private equity firm, where he served on the deal teams of Mars Cinema Group (exited), g2m (exited), Mey İçki (exited), Gratis, Çelebi and Mars Sportif. Mr. Tabak started his career at EY in the mergers and acquisitions department.

Mr. Tabak received his B.A. degree in Business Administration from Boğaziçi University.

ŞAHBEY TEKE

Senior Investment Director

Şahbey Teke is a Senior Director in the Turkish Private Equity team.

Since joining Esas as an Investment Analyst in 2007, Şahbey has focused on real estate and private equity investments in Turkey and internationally including Air Lease Corp, Peyman, Ayakkabı Dünyası, Fuyao Glass, JAB and Mars Cinema.

Mr. Teke received both his B.S. degree in Mechatronics and MBA degrees from Sabancı University.

Şahbey Teke served on the deal teams of Peyman and Mars Cinema until exit; sits on the board of Mars Sportif and is a steering committee member at Libra Softworks.

EMİN TUKSAL

Vice President

Emin is a Vice President in the Turkish Private Equity team.

Prior to joining Esas in 2021, Emin worked at Koç Holding as Business Development Manager where he focused on M&A projects. Emin previously worked as an investment banker at Credit Suisse, Unlu & Co. and Mediobanca.

Emin Tuksal received his B.Sc. degree in Mathematics from Boğaziçi University and his Master's degree in Corporate Finance from SDA Bocconi School of Management.

Emin served on the deal teams of Libra Softworks, Insider and Appsilon Enterprise and is a steering committee member at Libra Softworks and Appsilon Enterprise.