Turkey’s largest Islamic fashion e-tailer is looking for a buyer

Sefamerve.com, Turkey’s biggest Islamic fashion e-commerce retailer, is said to be looking for a buyer. Sefamerve has hired Pragma Corporate Finance to manage the sale of a significant stake in the company.

The business is in talks with international investors including a sovereign wealth fund from Asia and private equity firms from the U.S. and Middle East, Metin Okur, chairman and founder of Istanbul-based EST Marjinal Medikal Tanitim AS, the owner of the Sefamerve.com brand, said in an interview with Bloomberg. Kerim Kotan, managing director of Pragma, is leading negotiations with potential investors, Okur said.

As revealed by a source close to the matter, Sefamerve.com is valued at over 500 million dollars. Asked about this figure, Okur declined to comment on the valuation or the amount of the stake to be sold.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the Turkish fashion retailer considers such a deal. The company would have been approached by some sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors over the past three years as the company reached 100 million dollars in sales in 2017, according to Okur.

“I don’t see any reason why Sefamerve can’t become a company with a turnover of 500 million dollars by 2023 on the back of such annual growth,” the company’s chairman and founder said, recalling that sales at the online fashion retailer have more than doubled in each of the past two years.