Bankrupt Companies in the Stock Exchange Part 2: RAKS

dance, Aslan Önel A company with a very impressive success story, founded in 1964. While production is carried out under the name of different companies under the Raks Holding structure, from packaging to small household appliances, the main source of production is They were cassettes.

Well, who would have thought that the one who would bring the end of this story full of vision? “unpredictability of the future” and “failure to keep up with the times” it would happen.

Part 1 of the series:

So let’s start the second part of the series with Raks’ story:

Raks executives said, “Since we are producing cassettes, let’s get into the music business as well” and with the most popular artists by establishing their own production companies to work millions of cassette sales They did it.

Turkey’s first magnetic tape Raks, which established the production line, exported to many countries for years and became not only the best in its field in Turkey but also a major player in “cassette making” in the world.

It is the first company from Turkey to participate in IFA, the world’s largest electronics fair, held in Berlin in 1985.

Raks Electronics At that time, they produced under the name in Manisa Organized Industrial Zone He makes it in his factory. Turkey’s largest audio and video company Raks, a cassette manufacturerfollowing that period CD/DVD production also He starts to do it. At this point, it is possible to say that Raks started to catch up with the technology of the period in terms of the transition from cassettes to CDs.

On July 20, 1993, Raks Elektronik goes public with 3,900 lira.

“RAKS Elektronik, which has been Turkey’s first and largest private sector company in the production of audio and video cassettes for 16 years, offers its shares to our people.”

What a conscious investor should do for an IPO is to participate in the IPO. It is primarily a review of the company. In this case, when we look at Raks in outline at that time, we see that it had 70% of the cassette market. The company’s production 40% to the domestic market While presenting 60% to foreign marketthat is, by exporting.

Among the countries they export to: Japan in addition to the USA and European countries is available. Although it was attractive for investors up to this point, in 1993 it was available within minutes from the mobile application. It is not possible to participate in public offerings People had to come directly to Istanbul and make requests.

This was the main factor that made it difficult to sell and buy during rapid increases and decreases in the future. Because Raks’s adventure in the stock market quite wavy had continued.

In 1994, this time Raks, telecommunications and R&D establishes its units. RaksNet in 1996 The company, which entered the internet sector under its name, is not satisfied with this and even opens internet cafes.

Additionally In 1997 Participates in Türk Telekom’s “wireless local loop” tender. The main purpose of these steps taken is to provide services in the telecommunications sector. He achieved this goal in the early 2000s and It is during this period that they begin to produce their first phones.

Apart from all this, Raks main production was cassette and he was spending most of his investments here, and he was doing these with short-term debts.

Raks Holding’s His contributions to the music industry were also very significant. Especially through Raks Music, he pioneered the establishment of Turkey’s Music Producers Association (MÜYAP).

Company, pirated tape With the hologram system he developed to prevent the production of music, he significantly reduced the production of pirated music in Turkey.

of that period best known music production companies The founder is Raks again.

With these music production companies he founded; He works with names such as Ebru Gündeş, Emel Sayın, Bülent Ersoy, Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan, Nükhet Duru. Even according to some contributed to the recognition of some of these names It is even said that it was.

in 1997 the world’s largest music production company which is owned by Philips polygramcompanies belonging to Raks buys 25%. We should point out that Philips was also a major player in cassette production at that time.

In 1998, another world-famous company, this time Universal Music, It is buying Polygram’s European shares. Thus, he becomes Raks’ partner; In fact, he was not satisfied with this and bought 26% of its shares. Raks Music’s largest partner with 51% is happening.

Thus, Raks starts working with singers within Universal Music. Some of these singers are Kayahan, Sebnem Ferah, Müslüm Gurses And Teoman It consists of the best of the period such as.

After these steps, Raks becomes a major player in the entertainment industry; Afterwards, “Raksotek”, the largest entertainment and music store of that period, was established.

Raksotek is trying to change the habits of consumers, so that in this period everyone listening to the tapes from a time when he returned we are talking about.

Raksotek uses its slogan as “Buy it, watch it, keep it.” doing; so a little bit promoting archiving There is an understanding. Years later, he played the role of Raksotek’s adventure, with whom he was once a partner. D&R stores taking.

Raks, who also works in the TV industry, Discovery Channel’He had the Turkish representation of . Even in addition to these NR1, GençTV, FashionTV Channels like these were also part of Raks. So, as can be understood, Raks had a pretty wide command in the entertainment industry.

In 1999, upon all these achievements, then-President Süleyman Demirel awarded Raks’s founder, Aslan Önel, the “Special State Order” for his contributions to the economy.

From mid-1997 Asian Financial Crisis And Crises in Russia, It affects RAKS significantly, just as it affects all companies. The economic crisis experienced in 1998 and later accelerates the collapse of the company.

However, the last factor that really hits here is Great Marmara Earthquake is happening. This earthquake, which occurred in 1999, not only affected the whole country, but also dealt the final blow in the collapse of RAKS. During this period, banks increase interest rates and many companies enter bottlenecks.

RAKS stopped its production in 1999 when it could not pay its $150 million debt to banks and workers. One semester Company employing 2700 peopleThe number of employees in the early 2000s forced to reduce it to 400 and during this period, although the company faced financial difficulties and reached an agreement with the banks to which it owed money, these steps were not sufficient to overcome the financial difficulties.

While the whole world was moving away from cassettes towards the 2000s, Raks continued to invest in the cassette industry. So much so that the major source of these investments is He was doing it with short-term loans.

It is known that this played a big role in the collapse. The Raks administration failed to weigh the conditions of the period well and acted “stubbornly” about the future, so to speak. They had made the wrong investment decisions.

The following was said about Raks in the archives of that period:

At that time, Raks Nedim Aysan, general manager, “With the economic crisis that also affected Russia in 1998, we also entered a bottleneck. We took loans from banks, the interest rates on the loans increased rapidly from 200 percent to 320 percent. The company, which exports 150 million dollars a year, faced foreclosure proceedings despite its guarantees. Our share sales have hit rock bottom.” he said.

The Asian Crisis that started in the second quarter of 1997 and then the Russian Crisis Although investors to RAKS They had not lost their trust. So much so that the following sentences were used in a newspaper archive written in 2000: “When we look at the summer months of 1998, we see that the company’s stock rose rapidly. Share value of the company that reached its peak on August 4, 1998 It was 7,380 lira. Moreover, this period coincides with the time when the global crisis was at its deepest. The stock, which started to decline from this level, was followed by bankruptcy news. It dropped to 660 liras on September 28, 1999.“

The shares of Raks Elektronik and Raks Ev Aletleri, which were officially declared bankrupt in 2007, were permanently delisted from the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE).

In the statement, it was also stated that the Capital Markets Board July 19, 2002 It was stated that, in accordance with the regulations dated 2009, it is not possible for the shares of Raks Elektronik and Raks Ev Aletleri to be traded outside the stock exchange through brokerage firms.

Although Raks officially went bankrupt in 2007, its shares had been following a fluctuating trend since the early 2000s. In these periods, shares operated in the logic of the paper system and It cannot be sold over the phone with just one click. It should not be forgotten.

After the bankruptcy became clear in 2007, Raks’ shares on the stock exchange It almost vanished into history and left behind thousands of aggrieved investors.

Naming rights after 2007 Asan Distribution And RK Technology The brand made a comeback to the market by being used by companies. In addition, RK Technology, which continues to own the brand today, His connection with the Önel family, who founded Raks It is also known to be.

We should also point out that today’s Raks is not involved in the music, telephone, cassette or CD business as in the past. For now, they provide services on home appliances and cooling systems.

Bonus: RAKS’ factory in Manisa, which was auctioned at the end of 2009 the buyer tooIt didn’t come out.

The companies that produce those products that export to the world, which we mentioned at the beginning of our content. factory, When the company goes bankrupt, it is executed by a bank 22.7 million lira Although it was put up for sale, no buyers came forward. Moreover, no company is even participating in the auction.

At this point, in order to enter the auction at least 60% of this amount The corresponding part needs to be offered. The main reason for this is that in the conditions of the 2010s lagging behind in technology An idle factory full of equipment and vehicles is of no use to any company. not attractive it could be.

Bankrupt Companies That Went to the Public Offering in the Past and Reduced People’s Money in the Stock Exchange Years Later – See you in Part 3.