Linklaters and Herguner Bilge Ozeke have advised beIN Media Group on its successful acquisition of Digiturk, the leading pay-TV operator in Turkey, from the Cukurova Group and funds controlled by Providence Equity Partners. White & Case advised the Cukurova Group and Slaughter & May and GSI advised Providence Equity Partners on the deal, which completed on August 26, 2016.
The beIN Media Group is a diversified media company active in both sports and entertainment. According to a statement released by Linklaters, "beIN has assets including beIN SPORTS, a premium and leading television network present in around 36 countries within North America, MENA, Europe and Asia through 38 channels. It also owns four movie and two children’s entertainment channels as well as distribution platforms in MENA. Digiturk is the leading pay-TV operator in Turkey with approximately 3.5 million subscribers, offering a premium mix of leading sports and entertainment content across 219 standard and high definition channels.”
The Linklaters’ transaction team was led by Partner Daniel Cousens, supported by Associates Pavlos Kaimakliotis and Klaudia Owskianka, among others.
The White & Case team advising the Cukurova Group was led by London Partner David Crook together with Local Partner Emre Ozsar and Associate Kadir Cevikbas in Istanbul.
The Slaughter & May team advising Providence Equity Partners was led by Partner Tim Boxell, while the GSI team advising on matters of Turkish law consisted of Partners Ali Goksu and Emre Ulcayli.
