British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco are both considering to bid for Tekel, the Turkish state-owned tobacco company, the Financial Times reports.

"We have always said we would take a look at it and that is what we'll do now it is up for sale," said a BAT spokesperson.
"Tekel is something that we have said we would look at. We already have around 3 per cent of the tobacco sales in Turkey but we will monitor developments here while continuing to focus on Altadis," Imperial Tobacco said.
The Turkish government is understood to be planning a roadshow in London this week for the privatisation of Tekel. It will be the government’s third attempt to sell its tobacco business.