Food services company TAB Gıda has received the green light from Turkish regulators to sell shares at the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST) in what is set to be Türkiye’s largest initial public offering in dollar terms since 2018.

The approval by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to TAB Gıda, which holds franchise rights for Burger King, Popeyes and others, was published after market closure on Thursday.

The company would raise TL 6.85 billion ($247 million) if all the shares were sold.

The company will float about 20%, or 52.5 million, of its shares at TL 130 each, SPK said in a bulletin. Shareholder TFI TAB Gida Yatırımları will sell some shares along with a capital increase.

Listing proceeds will be used to finance new restaurant openings, a solar plant, and reduce financial debts.

TAB Gida runs about 1,500 fast-food restaurants in Türkiye, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), North Macedonia and Georgia, including more than 700 Burger King outlets.

It also operates Arby’s, Popeyes, Sbarro and Subway, as well as a number of domestic brands.

TAB Gıda’s revenue rose to TL 8.62 billion in 2022, a 125% year-over-year increase. Its net income touched TL 361.8 million, according to the company.

The number of public offerings has soared this year in Türkiye as domestic retail investors flocked to the stock market, with listings largely consisting of smaller companies, raising about $60 million on average.

A surge in retail stock investors, which has more than doubled over the past year to more than 10% of the adult population, has been a boon for IPO hopefuls.

The Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange saw 36 IPOs in the first nine months of the year, the second-highest figure since records that go back to 1990, with many more awaiting regulatory approval.

In 2022, there were 40 IPOs worth about TL 19.3 billion, compared to a record of 52 listings in 2021, according to BIST data.

The total value of the IPOs this year has exceeded $2 billion and is on track to be the highest since 2007.