Former TAV Construction Legal Director has joined Samsung Electronics in Istanbul as its Director of Legal Affairs.

The Cetinkaya Law Firm has advised Merzigo on its monetization agreements with the Dogus Media Group and the Fox TV channel.

Dentons Turkish affiliate Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki has advised Adsby on its seed funding round led by Inveo Ventures and including KT Portfoy Yonetimi Lonca GSYF and angel investors.

Former Guner Law Office Partner Burcak Kurt Bicer and Department Head Can Guner left the team to set up the new Bicer Guner Attorneys-at-Law firm in Istanbul as Partners.

Clifford Chance and its Turkish affiliate Ciftci Attorney Partnership have advised joint bookrunners BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Securities, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, MUFG Securities EMEA, PNC Capital Markets, and Bank of China (Europe) on the successful USD 800 million offering of 9.50% senior secured notes by WE Soda Holdings Investment.

On October 3, 2023, GKC Partners announced that TotalEnergies Renewables' acquisition of a 50% stake in Turkey's Ronesans Enerji (reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 18, 2023) had closed.

Turunc has advised the Arya Women Investment Platform on its investment in Ingosa in a round that also included Dogus Yeni Girisimler, Aegean Ventures, and angel investors from the Arya Angel Investment Network. BATI Lawyers advised Ingosa.

The Aksan Law Firm has advised Maxis Founder One on its investment in Varsapp as part of the start-up's USD 200,000 concluded investment round that also included hiVC GSYO.

On October 6, 2023, the Bozoglu Izgi Attorney Partnership announced it is joining forces with Dentons Turkish affiliate Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki, with Elvan Sevi Bozoglu and Mehmet Feridun Izgi joining BASEAK as Partners alongside an additional 19 lawyers and two trainees from their team.

As a result of the expanding adoption of blockchain technologies worldwide, lawmakers seek to introduce regulatory frameworks to compete in the ever-fast-growing field, particularly when it comes to crypto assets. As these assets spark debates in the financial world and among regulators, some countries’ lawmakers adopt regulations to define their legal status, whereas others choose to remain silent.

Cashless and contactless interactions have dramatically increased over the last few years, driven by several factors, such as the increasing adoption of smartphones, the growth of e-commerce, and the need for contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transactions have become commonplace and straightforward daily for many users in every field. Most consumers switch from traditional payments with plastic cards to online payments via smartphone apps.

For almost every industry, sustainability involves adopting environmentally and socially responsible practices throughout a company's operations, from sourcing and production to sales and customer engagement. This includes reducing carbon emissions, promoting fair labor practices, supporting the product lifecycle, leveraging blockchain and digital systems, ensuring supply chain transparency, and maintaining ethical governance standards. Therefore, environmental sustainability policies need to be integrated into internal company rules, and, in particular, stakeholders in every sector need to take more responsibility for ESG practices.

Bagzibagli, Erdem & Sahin has advised Enqura Bilgi Teknolojileri on its USD 2.9 million investment round from Eksim Ventures, Hedef Portfoy Startup Burada GSYF, Lima Ventures, Doga Girisim, Echo Cagri Merkezi, Sistem Global, and private investors. 

One of the important advantages of arbitration proceedings is that the parties can appoint co-arbitrators. Thus, the parties can ensure that those whose impartiality, knowledge and fairness they trust will decide on their dispute. This opportunity raises the question of who the party-appointed arbitrators should be and the criteria by which the parties should appoint the party-appointed arbitrators. 

The European Commission (“Commission") has been in the process of what can be called a reform of secondary legislation for the last few years. The Commission has issued several legislative developments that have reformed European competition law. After a long period of work, in May 2022, The Commission launched the new VBER with extensive changes. This year, the Commission made further changes on the EU Merger Regulation, extended the EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER), introduced the new EU Revised Horizontal Block Exemption Regulation, introduced Guidelines on Exclusionary Abuses, and announced public consultation under Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Baker McKenzie’s Turkish affiliate Esin Attorney Partnership has advised Denizbank on its USD 109 million loan from the EBRD. Reportedly, Clifford Chance and its Turkish affiliate Ciftci Attorney Partnership advised the EBRD.

M&A in the CEE region has been a captivating theater of evolving trends and geopolitical dynamics of late. Schoenherr Partner Markus Piuk shares his insights on the current market trends and delves into the influence of the US-China relationship, the status of Russian-based transactions, the resilience of the CEE M&A market, and the prospects of industry consolidation and growth.

Aksan has advised APY Ventures on its new investment in Poliark.