Two Turkish businessmen have sold their 51.1% stake in BMC Industry and Trade Inc (Sanayi ve Ticaret Inc), a joint Turkish-Qatari venture that manufactures armoured vehicles and tanks to the country's leading steelmaker, Tosyalı Holding, according to the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette of 22 June.
The Qatar Armed Forces Industry Committee retained a 49.9% share in BMC that it bought in 2014. Five Qataris out of 10 members of the company's executive board retained their positions after the Turkish share sale.
The change in Turkish ownership of BMC came after months of long negotiations with Tosyalı. According to local media reports, shares were sold for about USD480 million. Neither the former nor the new Turkish shareholder has made an official statement on the change of hands in BMC ownership yet.
BMC's Turkish shares were previously owned by Turkish businessmen Ethem Sancak and Talip Öztürk, both of whom are close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The new owner is also close to the president, as its CEO, Fuat Tosyalı, is a member of the executive board of the state-owned Turkey Wealth Fund.
In 2014 Sancak won an auction to purchase BMC – the history of which dates back more than half a century to a venture with the British Motor Corp – from the Turkish government for TRY751 million, the equivalent of more than USD360 million at the time. He later sold almost half of his shares to Öztürk.
Since BMC signed an agreement with Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) in 2018 to build the country's Altay main battle tank (MBT), the MBT has seen further delays.
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