Turkey is having its best year for takeovers since 2008,recording better growth than any of the largest emerging markets asEurope's fastest expanding economy lures buyers from Diageo Plc. toGoldman Sachs Group Inc.

The value of transactions involving Turkish targets hasincreased 59 percent annually to $8.8 billion, the highest levelsince Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. failed in September 2008,according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Deals dropped this year inBrazil, India and China, while mergers and acquisitions grew 50percent in Russia, the data show.

Turkey's $735 billion economy grew 8.8 percent in the secondquarter, faster than India's and more than four times the eurozone's expansion, as credit growth spurred consumer demand. Thecentral bank has taken the most aggressive steps in emergingmarkets this year to guard the economy against a global slowdown,cutting interest rates three times since December while borrowingcosts rose in the so-called BRIC nations.