Turkish-Danish hospital deal might be more than meets the eye (Al Monitor, June 30, 2021)

Turkey’s Ronesans Holding — a company close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the builder of his sumptuous palace — has moved to sell its lucrative hospital operation business to a Danish company, a decision some observers see as a sign of anxiety among government cronies over Erdogan’s political prospects and the future of controversial public-private investments.

Turkey’s Competition Board said last week it had approved a deal for Denmark’s services giant ISS to acquire Ronesans’ facility management company, which operates a series of hospitals across the country. The financial terms of the handover have not been disclosed. Under the deal, ISS will take over the operation of five “city hospitals” — vast medical campuses built over the past decade as part of ambitious infrastructure projects, whose economic viability and public cost are increasingly called into question.

ISS is a global facility services company and one of the world’s largest employers, serving some 60,000 clients in more than 30 countries in various areas such as cleaning, security, catering and maintenance. Its long-running businesses in Turkey employ about 40,000 people.

With a combined capacity of nearly 10,000 beds, Ronesans’ five hospitals had made it the dominant actor among city hospital operators. The company runs also major construction operations in Russia and has invested prominently in Turkey’s energy sector.