Category: Turkiye

Turunc has advised Bogazici Ventures on its investment in Retter.io, in a round that also included Inveo Ventures. Moroglu Arseven reportedly advised Retter.

Retter.io is a provider of products for faster backend development.

The Turunc team included Managing Partner Kerem Turunc, Partner Yasemin Erden, and Associates Beste Yildizili Ergul, Naz Esen, Ovgu Kopal, Canberk Taze, Baran Ezeli, and Batuhan Eraslan.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Moroglu Arseven confirmed it had advised Retter on its recent investment round amounting to USD 1.25 million. The firm’s team included Partners Burcu Tuzcu Ersin and Sevi Islamagec and Associate Sezer Kisacikoglu.

Allen & Overy and Turkish affiliate Gedik & Eraksoy have advised the joint bookruners on Akbank’s USD 600 million issuance of 9.37% perpetual fixed rate resettable additional tier 1 notes. Baker McKenzie and Turkish affiliate Esin Attorney Partnership advised Akbank.

Akbank was founded in Adana in 1948. According to Baker McKenzie, it is “one of the most well-capitalized banks in Turkiye.”

According to Allen & Overy, this was the first “Turkish Basel III-compliant additional tier 1 bond issuance which was fully subscribed by qualified foreign investors. The deal also attracted great investor interest, with demand from about 200 foreign investors exceeding USD 3.7 billion.”

The Gedik & Eraksoy team included Partner Umut Gurgey, Associate Nur Ertekin, Junior Associate Melis Yilmaz Diler, and Legal Trainee Ozan Geyik. The Allen & Overy team was led by London-based Partners Jamie Durham and Sachin Dave.

The Esin Attorney Partnership team included Partner Muhsin Keskin, Associates Busra Cavas and Oyku Ruya Turkogullari, and Trainee Ahmet Semih Aktas. The Baker McKenzie team in London included Partner Megan Schellinger, Senior Associate James Tanner, Associate Akshay Prasad, and Trainee Solicitor Avni Devgan.

Herguner Bilgen Ucer has advised the TaiwanCement Corporation on its indirect acquisition of an additional 20% equity interest in OYAK Cimento Fabrikalari as part of a wider low-carbon cement investment transaction.

According to TaiwanCement, “with a total amount of EUR 621 million, TCC becomes one of the main suppliers of low-carbon cement in Europe after increasing its stake in Turkey by 20% and in Portugal by 60%, and holds a total of 60% in the ‘Joint Venture Company of Turkish Cement Assets’ and 100% in Cimpor Portugal.”

According to Herguner Bilgen Ucer, the transaction makes TCC OYAK Cimento Fabrikalari’s majority shareholder and strengthens its presence in the Turkish market.

“Since 2018, TCC has partnered with OYAK through a joint venture company. Over the past five years, the joint venture company’s net profit has grown sixfold, continuously contributing to TCC’s revenue. As of now, the joint venture company has also accumulated 2.37 million tons of carbon credits in Europe,” TCC reported. “The high carbon price in the EU, coupled with the recently revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which mandates that all new public buildings in EU member states must be zero-carbon by 2026 – and this requirement extends to all new private buildings by 2028 – has led to a year-on-year increase in demand for low-carbon cement.”

The Herguner Bilgen Ucer team included Senior Partner Umit Herguner, Partner Deniz Tuncel, Senior Associates Tolga Ipek and Bora Baskurt, and Associate Batuhan Kocabas.

Herguner Bilgen Ucer did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

PwC Legal has advised aquaculture specialist Agromey on its sale to Kilic Holding.

Agromey is a fish and fish product producer and exporter operating in the aquaculture sector.

Kilic Holding describes itself as the biggest producer of sea bream and Mediterranean sea bass in the world.

The PwC Legal team included Partners Feride Ikiz, Hakan Ozguler, and Yavuz Dayioglu.

PwC Legal did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Turunc has advised Lightspeed Venture Partners on leading a USD 64 million series B investment round into AI-powered workplace safety platform Intenseye.

The round also included existing investors Insight Partners, Point Nine, and Air Street Capital.

Intenseye describes itself as being “on a mission to transform workplace safety with computer vision AI. By providing 24/7 visibility into unseen hazards, ergonomic risk factors, and leading indicator data, the company’s solutions empower environmental health and safety (EHS) leaders to drive proactive changes that reduce work-related injury and illness rates, improve compliance, and save lives.”

Lightspeed Venture Partners is a US-headquartered venture capital fund.

The Turunc team included Founding Partner Noyan Turunc, Managing Partner Kerem Turunc, Partner Esin Camlibel, and Associates Beste Yildizili Ergul and Naz Esen.

Turunc was unable to disclose further information on the deal.

Deutsche Bank Turkiye Head of Legal and former Vice President Ozge Sanioglu was appointed Director at the company in March 2024.

Sanioglu has spent the last 12 years with Deutsche Bank, joining the team back in 2012 as a Vice President. She also became the bank’s Head of Legal in 2018. Earlier, she spent four years as a Consultant Lawyer with Garanti Bank, between 2008 and 2012. Before that, she spent five years with the Topaloglu Law Firm as a Lawyer.

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

Former Alacergold Madencilik General Counsel Ahmet Ilker Dogan has returned to private practice as a Senior Managing Partner with Tunca Attorney Partnership in Ankara.

According to the firm, “Ahmet has significant experience in the M&A market and has experience across a broad array of sectors, including energy, mining, construction, and financial institutions.”

Dogan, a finance and corporate/M&A expert, has previously spent 11 years with Alacergold Madencilik. Earlier, he spent almost 17 years with White & Case between 1996 and 2012.

“We’re pleased to welcome Ahmet Ilker Dogan to the Tunca team – his extensive experience on both energy and M&A transactions will increase our strength in the legal market,” Founding Partner Sidar Tunca commented.

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

Former Getir Senior Legal Counsel Gizem Taskin Tavli has joined Domino’s Turkiye as Head of Legal.

Before the move, Tavli spent over two years with Getir. Earlier, she spent two and a half years with the CGV Mars Cinema Group, three years with TurkMedya, and over three years with Yesilkoy.

“I’ve started working in a delightful and successful organization,” Tavli said of the move. “I’m surrounded by reputable and value-focused individuals. In my new role, I’m excited about achieving and continuing to succeed together. Here’s wishing for continued multiplied success!”

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

Turunc has advised the Future Impact Fund on its investment in precision medicine biotechnology company PhiTech Bioinformatics. The Aksan law firm advised PhiTech on the Maxis Arya Venture Capital Fund-led investment round.

According to Aksan, PhiTech is a health biotech company “providing innovative AI-powered clinical decision support software for the molecular diagnostics of rare genetic diseases through a multi-omics approach, utilizing DNA and RNA sequencing data for more precise and faster diagnosis.”

According to Turunc, Gelecek Etki Fonu (the Future Impact Fund) is a capital markets board-regulated venture capital fund managed jointly by Tacirler Asset Management, an asset management company, and Vestel Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Vestel, one of the largest home appliances companies in Turkiye and a group company of Zorlu Holding, a Turkish conglomerate.

The Turunc team included Managing Partner Kerem Turunc, Partner Esin Camlibel, and Associates Naz Esen, Beste Yildizili Ergul, Ovgu Kopal, Canberk Taze, and Batuhan Eraslan.

The Aksan team included Partner Alper Onar, Senior Associate Merve Kutukcuoglu Karpuzcu, and Associate Nihan Kul.

Former Ozbay & Okumus Partner Enes Said Okumus has joined Oker Legal in Istanbul as a Partner.

Before the move, Okumus spent six and a half years as a Partner with Ozbay & Okumus. Before that, he spent over two years as an Associate with Kahveci Demir, between 2015 and 2017.

Okumus has a BA degree from Galatasaray University and a Master of Laws degree from Istanbul Medeniyet University, obtained in 2017, with a focus on Medical Law.