Marathon adds office in Turkey

Marathon Asset Management, the global asset manager with $11 billion (€6.9 billion) under management, has opened an office in Istanbul, Turkey, in a bid to expand investments in the wider region. Mehmet Budak, a former employee of Carlyle, is heading the effort.

Scott Gordon, Marathon’s head of emerging markets, said in a statement: “Adding this office will enable Marathon to originate and execute private equity, real estate, principal finance and public equity deals throughout Turkey, Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.”

Marathon's emerging markets practice focuses on opportunistically investing and trading across both debt and equity in public and private markets. Its dedicated real estate team is co-headed by Jon Halpern and Ron Bernstein.

In a recent interview with PERE magazine, Halpern revealed the firm had just opened an office in Mumbai where it had become equity partner to Indian development companies. “We have the same investment profile as private equity, but the difference is that we have the advantage of evergreen capital,” he said. “We don't have the same pressure to invest in any sector or geography and that has given us flexibility to be a bit more responsive.”

Marathon has offices in New York, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Washington and Los Angeles.