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One of Türkiye's leading lenders, Yapi Kredi, is back in the spotlight after selling its portfolio management arm to Italy's Azimut in a ₺16.4 billion ($345.7 million) deal, prompting fresh speculation that the bank itself could be heading toward a sale.
The transaction, announced on Wednesday, transfers full ownership of Yapi Kredi Portfolio Management to AZ International Holdings, part of Italy-based Azimut Group. While the deal is limited to the asset management business, it has renewed debate over whether the bank is laying the groundwork for a broader strategic restructuring.
Yapi Kredi, Türkiye's seventh-largest bank with total assets of around €63 billion ($72.2 billion) at the end of 2025, has repeatedly been linked to takeover rumors in recent years. The sale of one of its strongest-performing subsidiaries has once again fueled questions over the lender's long-term plans.
Under the agreement, Yapi Kredi will continue distributing the investment products managed by Yapi Kredi Portfolio through its banking network under a long-term partnership with Azimut.
The companies also signed a framework agreement for a 15-year distribution arrangement, which will come into force once the share transfer is completed and allow Yapi Kredi to continue offering investment products managed by the former subsidiary through its banking network.
The transaction is expected to close in 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
In 2025, Yapi Kredi Portfolio delivered a robust financial performance, with net profit rising nearly 25% to ₺1.9 billion. Total assets increased to ₺3.5 billion, while shareholders' equity reached ₺3.1 billion. With a 9.5% market share, Yapi Kredi Portfolio ranked as Türkiye's fifth-largest portfolio management company.
The acquisition will make Azimut the country's largest private asset manager by combining ₺567.5 billion in assets under management from its existing Turkish operations with ₺1.1 trillion managed by Yapi Kredi Portfolio, creating a combined ₺1.7 trillion portfolio.
That would rank the group second only to Türkiye's state-run asset manager Ziraat, which oversees ₺2.3 trillion, according to Capital Markets Board data.
Commenting on the deal, Iris Cibre, a financial markets executive at Phoenix Consultancy, said the structure of the agreement could reshape any future sale process involving the bank.
"With this deal, a buyer will need to be found who has no appetite for the portfolio management business or who is interested in a portfolio management distribution agreement," Cibre said.
Financial markets expert Omerhan Karamahmutoglu suggested the sale could reflect an effort to strengthen the bank's balance sheet despite the portfolio management unit's strong profitability. Another possibility, he wrote, is that a potential buyer already has an asset management business and has little interest in acquiring another one.
The sale rumors first surfaced in 2024 after Reuters reported that First Abu Dhabi Bank was in advanced talks to acquire Koc Holding's controlling stake in Yapi Kredi in a deal valued at around $8 billion.
Koc Holding later confirmed it was evaluating strategic alternatives for its portfolio but said details circulating in the media were inaccurate and that there was no development requiring a public disclosure.
Subsequent media reports indicated the negotiations eventually collapsed after the parties failed to agree on valuation before full due diligence could begin.
Founded on Sept. 9, 1944, Yapi Kredi is Türkiye's first privately owned commercial bank. Its shares have traded on Borsa Istanbul since 1987. As of March 31, 2026, the lender served roughly 17 million customers, operated 740 domestic branches and one overseas branch, and employed 14,653 people.
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