World Bulletin/News Desk

Bidders in Turkey offered Friday to pay a combined $3.45 billion to buy four power grids, the last four on sale in a series of auctions to privatize the country's entire electricity distribution network.

The highest offer in the tender for Toroslar grid -- the network in southern Turkey -- was made by Enerjisa with $1.725 billion and the company also placed the highest bid - of $1.227 billion - for the AYEDAS grid in Istanbul's Asian side.

Turkerler Insaat, another bidder in today's tenders, won the auction for the Vangolu grid in eastern Turkey with $118 million, and Iskaya Dogu OGG, made the highest offer with $387 million for the Dicle network in southeast Turkey.

The companies need approval from Turkey's privatization authority before they could take over operating rights of the power grids.

Enerjisa of Turkey's Sabanci Holding operates the power grid in capital Ankara.