On October 26, 2022, the Turkish Competition Board (“Board”) published its reasoned decision dated June 23, 2022 and numbered 22-28/443-180, upon its preliminary investigation initiated against six undertakings (i.e. Ahmet Tanrıbuyurdu, Emin Helal Et ve Gıda A.Ş., Göktaşlar Et-Et Ürünleri Yan San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti, Namet Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Pınar Entegre ve Un Sanayi A.Ş. and Sultan Et ve Gıda Üretim Tic. Paz. Ltd. Şti.) that are active in the red meat industry to determine whether the undertakings have violated Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”).
Koutalidis Advises Wren House Infrastructure on Acquisition of Equity Stake in Zorlu Enerji
Koutalidis, working alongside White & Case’s London office, has advised Wren House Infrastructure on its USD 88 million acquisition of equity stakes in Turkish EV charging station company Zorlu Enerji and its Dutch subsidiary, ZES NV.
Cemile Demir Gokyayla Joins KP Law To Head Arbitration/ADR
Cemile Demir Gokyayla has joined KP Law as a Partner and Head of the firm's Arbitration/ADR practice along with her team.
DTB, CMS, and Tus & Grzic Advise on PPD and INA Sale of TMF to Yildirim Group
Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka and Tus & Grzic have advised Prvo Plinarsko Drustvo and INA, respectively, on the sale of their stakes in joint-venture company Terra Mineral Fertilizer to the Yildirim Group. CMS advised the Yildirim Group.
Electronic Signatures, Contracts, and Archiving in Turkey
Contributed by KP Law.
BASEAK Advises APY Ventures on Investment in Sorwe
Dentons Turkish affiliate Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki Attorney Partnership advised APY Ventures on its investment in Sorwe.
Draft Regulation On Introducing Comprehensive Changes to Card Payment Systems Are Introduced For Public Consultation
The Draft Regulation Amending the Regulation on Bank Cards and Credit Cards ("Draft Regulation") was published on the website of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ("BRSA") on 28/10/2022 to receive sector and public opinions.
Akol Law and Esin Attorney Partnership Advise on Eczacibasi Acquisition of Gensenta from Amgen
Akol Law has advised EIS Eczacibasi Ilac on its USD 135 million acquisition of Gensenta from the Amgen Group. Baker McKenzie Turkish affiliate Esin Attorney Partnership advised the seller.
Akol Law Advises Paket Mutfak on USD 3 Million Seed Round
Akol Law has advised Paket Mutfak on its USD 3 million seed investment round from Nokta Yatirim, Kadri Samsunlu, and Ersan Ozturk, alongside existing investors. The Surmen Law Firm reportedly advised Nokta Yatirim.
Ilker & Colak Advises Yildizlar Group on Gulpinar Wind Farm Project
Ilker & Colak has advised the Yildizlar Group on its collaboration with Enercon for the high-volume capacity extension project for the Gulpinar Wind Farm.
Asli Yildiz Joins S4 Capital Group as Head of Legal
Turkish lawyer Asli Yildiz has joined S4 Capital Group as its Head of Legal - Global Privacy in London.
Turkish Law of Transportation Series – IV: Release from Liability of Logistics Companies in Carriage of Commodity
Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 [“TCC”] stipulates that the carrier shall be liable for the damages caused by the loss, damage or delay of delivery of commodity within the period from the takeover of commodity for carriage to delivery of it. The legal nature of the carrier's liability in this context is strict liability. This means that even if the carrier has no fault in incurrence of damages, they should still be liable. However, this liability is not absolute. As a matter of fact, the carrier can be released from liability on the grounds set out in the law or by proving that they have taken the greatest care.
Nihat Ozbek Joins Partnership at Guleryuz Partners
Former Loomis Turkey Legal Affairs & Compliance Manager Nihat Ozbek has joined Guleryuz Partners as a Partner.
B&P Advises EBRD on EUR 75 Million Loan to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Bezen & Partners has advised the EBRD on its EUR 75 million loan to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for the construction of the Goztepe-Atasehir-Umraniye metro line in Istanbul.
Turkish Law of Transportation Series – III: Liability of Logistics Companies for the Loss, Damage or Delay in Delivery
The main obligation of the transport and logistics companies, i.e., carrier in contracts of carriage is to take the commodity from one place to another and deliver it to the consignee. The carrier is obliged to deliver the commodity in the form and condition in which it was received. Therefore, the carrier also undertakes the obligation to preserve the commodity under its control while performing the contract of carriage.
Law No. 7418 on Amendment of Press Law and Certain Laws is Published
Law No. 7418 on Amendment of Press Law and Certain Laws (“Amendment Law”) is published in Official Gazette of October 18, 2022 and introduced significant amendments on certain laws including the Press Law No. 5187, the Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 and the Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and the Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcast (“Law No. 5651”) and the Law No. 5809 Electronic Communications Law (“Law No. 5809”).
The Turkish Competition Board Clears the Acquisition for Sole Control of a Porcelain Producer by an American Private Equity Firm Following Divestment Commitments (Ferro/American Securities)
The Turkish Competition Board (“Board”) conditionally approved the acquisition of sole control over Ferro Corporation (“Ferro”) by American Securities LLC (“American Securities”) through its solely controlled affiliate ASP Prince Holdings Inc. (“Prince”). The Board determined that the transaction would result in the significant impediment of effective competition in the market for glass coatings for home appliances in Turkey. That being said, the Board conditionally approved the transaction subject to the commitments submitted by the parties to the European Commission (“Commission”) on the grounds that the commitments removed the entire horizontal overlap between the parties in the horizontally affected markets in Turkey.
New Amendments Made Within the Framework of Combating Disinformation Entered into Force in Turkey
The Law on the Amendment of Press Law numbered 7418 and Some Other Laws [“Amendment Law”] published in the Official Gazette No. 31987 dated October 18, 2022. While the amendments adopted mainly in the Press Law significantly expand the scope of this law, the Amendment Law also includes new regulations with regard to online news tools, the number of which are increasing day by day as opposed to printed media.