Turunc has advised Bogazici Ventures on its investment in Lokum Games. The round included APY Ventures and other investors. AAT Partners reportedly advised Lokum. Aksan reportedly advised APY Ventures.

Article 26 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 ("IPL") authorises the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office ("Office") to revoke trademarks in cases set out in the relevant article. According to IPL Article 192/1-(a), this provision was set to come into effect seven years from its publication date, i.e., 10 January 2024. Additionally, 4^th provisional article of the IPL stipulated that this authority would be enforced by the courts until that time. Thus, with the expiration of the aforementioned seven-year period, the authority for the administrative revocation of trademarks was passed from the civil courts to the Office as of 10 January 2024.

Paksoy, working with Mayer Brown, has advised Turk Ekonomi Bankasi on its USD 400 million issuance of fixed-rate resettable tier 2 notes due 2034. Allen & Overy and its Turkish affiliate Gedik & Eraksoy reportedly advised the joint bookrunners. 

The Aksan Law Firm has advised venture capital fund Founder One on its investment in ERG Controls.

Turunc has advised Bogazici Ventures on its investment in mobile gaming company Toon Metal Games.

The Aksan law firm has advised APY Ventures on its investment in Bilisim Vadisi Digiage.

The Regulation on Determination of Risk Groups and Credit Limitations ("Risk Groups Regulation") and the Regulation on Credit Operations of Banks ("Credit Operations Regulation") prepared by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ("BRSA") were published in the Official Gazette dated 21.12.2023. Accordingly, the provisions regarding the determination of risk groups and calculation of credit limits in the Regulation on Credit Operations of Banks dated 1.11.2006 ("Former Regulation") were adapted to the Risk Groups Regulation and detailed regulations on the determination of risk groups were introduced. With the Regulation on Credit Transactions, the Former Regulation dated 1.11.2006 was repealed, and other provisions of the Former Regulation were reviewed and reorganised.

A new Regulation on Active Cooperation for Detecting Cartels (“Regulation”) in Turkey entered into force on 16 December 2023. The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) also held a helpful webinar on the topic, highlighting the differences between the old and new regulation. In this article, we highlight two changes that we consider to be the most important: (i) applicants are now required to submit documents that contribute added value; and (ii) applications from cartel facilitators are now explicitly welcomed. Lastly, we present an overview of the conditions for full immunity and for reductions in administrative monetary fines.

Guleryuz Partners, working with the Galadari Law and Eversheds Sutherland, has advised the Tiryaki Group on its USD 112.5 million financing package from the IFC, FMO, and Proparco to finance an agro-industrial complex in Iraq’s Umm-Qasr Port. Allen & Overy, working with Confluent Law, advised the lenders.

Turunc has advised Bogazici Ventures on its investment in the Frozen Pawn Games indie gaming company.

The Aksan Law Firm has advised the Turkiye Kalkinma Fonu on the establishment of the TUBITAK Bigg Fund with anchor investor TUBITAK – the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye.

Did you know that while only five lawyers worked on ten or more CEE client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in 2022, a total of fourteen lawyers reached that level in 2023? The 2023 leaderboard was led by Milos Felgr of Clifford Chance in Prague, who worked on a remarkable 20 CEELM-reported client matters last year, with Alper Onar of Istanbul’s Aksan Law Firm, who worked on 19, close behind. Fellow Turk Kerem Turunc, the Managing Partner of Turunc, worked on 17 reported deals, while Djordje Nikolic of NKO Partners in Belgrade worked on 16, and Tomasz Rogalski of Norton Rose Fulbright in Warsaw worked on 15.

Gokce Ildiri Cosguner has been promoted to a Partner position with Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli in Istanbul.

Former Moral Kinikoglu Pamukkale Kokenek Name Partner Sertac Kokenek has joined Norton Rose Fulbright Turkish affiliated firm Pekin Bayar Mizrahi as an Equity Partner.

On January 4, 2024, Boyanov & Co announced that the EUR 1.4 billion sale of Cargo-Partner subsidiaries to Nippon Express (reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 17, 2023) had closed.

With its announcement dated 10.01.2024, the Competition Authority imposed an administrative fine of TL 4,796,152.96  per day (on the basis of its gross revenues in 2022) on META Economic Unity commencing from 12.12.2023 until the Final Compliance Remedy is submitted to the Competition Authority. 

Former Senior Associate Tugba Aksoy Bozkurt has become a Partner at the Ergun Law Offices in Istanbul.

Baker McKenzie and its Esin Attorney Partnership affiliate have advised a club of banks including ING Bank, ING Bank Singapore, Bank of China Limited Beijing, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, Halyk Bank, and AB Bank of China Kazakhstan on the USD 286 million financing of the development a soda ash production facility by the Yildirim Group in Kazakhstan. Morgan Lewis & Bockius reportedly advised the Yildirim Group.