Gedik & Eraksoy — the Turkish arm of Allen & Overy — has, along with Allen & Overy’s Singapore office, advised Malaysia’s state electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Bhd., on its December 11, 2015 acquisition of a 30% stake in Turkey’s Gama Enerji A.S. for USD 243 million. TNB acquired the stake from Gama Holding A.S., the International Finance Corporation, and GIF Holding I Cooperatief U.A. (a fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company), in the amounts of 22.5%, 5.75%, and 1.75%, respectively. The IFC and GIF were advised by Clifford Chance, while Gama Holding was advised by White & Case and Cakmak Gokce Law Offices.
The partnership will give TNB two seats on Gama Enerji’s board with extensive control rights, as well as the opportunity to place key senior TNB professionals, particularly in finance, operations and maintenance, in Gama Enerji’s management.
Established in 2002, Gama Enerji is a subsidiary of Gama Holding, a prominent Turkish conglomerate with activities in construction, EPC contracting, concessions, trade, and energy/water investment. Gama Enerji is a power and water infrastructure development company which owns and operates a large portfolio of thermal, wind, and hydro assets in Turkey as well as a large water conveyance project in Jordan. Gama Enerji currently has a 840MW natural gas-fired plant and a 45 MW wind power plant under construction in Turkey which will go live in Q3 2016 and Q4 2016 respectively. By 2017, it is expected to have a gross installed capacity of 1,027MW in Turkey.
TNB Chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie described his company’s investment as “an important step in TNB’s strategy of expanding into international markets where power demand is rising. It is in line with TNB’s five-year international expansion roadmap to secure new overseas generation capacity. TNB will bring significant engineering and technical expertise, not least in the areas of managing, operating and maintaining large scale power plants. This know-how will give the partnership between TNB, Gama Holding, IFC and GIF a real competitive edge that can maximize opportunities in Turkey and the region.”
TNB’s President/Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Ir. Azman Mohd said: “Turkey is one of the largest power markets in Europe and power consumption has shown an impressive six per cent of average annual growth in the last decade. By gaining a presence in this key power market through our investment and long-term strategic partnership with Gama Holding, TNB will be able to significantly grow its power generation assets in Turkey, as well as looking to expand further into the Middle East and North Africa. We will do this by actively pursuing acquisition opportunities of existing power assets, as well as bidding for greenfield projects with Gama Holding in Turkey and the surrounding region.”
The Gedik & Eraksoy team was led by Partner Hakki Gedik, supported by Associates Naz Tamer and Utku Unver. The Singapore-based Allen & Overy team was led by Partner Barry Irwin, supported by Senior Sssociates James Mythen and Mark Nam.
The Clifford Chance team was led by Paris-based Counsel Marianne Pezant.
Editorial Note: After this article was published, it was announced that the White & Case and Cakmak Gokce Law Offices team that advised Gama Enerji included Istanbul-based Partners Asli Basgoz and Ashley Ballard and London-based Partner Pieta Menon, with support from Istanbul-based Associates Tugce Tatari, Ceylan Kara, and Nesli Sen Ozcelik, Ankara-based Associate Mustafa Durakoglu, and London-based Associates Laura Hoyland and Oliver Clarke. White & Case Tax Consultant Hakan Eraslan and Competition Advisor Sezin Elcin Cengiz — both in Istanbul — rounded out the team, which worked with Gama General Counsel Aybars Yagiz.
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