In Turkey, a local and centralized commercial electronic communication management system (IYS) for obtaining, exercising, and tracking opt-in/opt-out requests as well as complaints from recipients of electronic commercial communications was established under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade, the competent authority, in line with recent amendments to the Regulation on Commercial Communication and Commercial Electronic Messages. Also, a company has been incorporated solely for the establishment and management of IYS on behalf of the institution authorized by the Ministry (IYSCo).

White & Case and its associated Turkish firm, GKC Partners, have advised Zynga Inc. on its USD 168 million acquisition of an 80% stake in Rollic, a mobile games developer and publisher, from Mehmet Can Yavuz, Deniz Basaran, Burak Vardal, Volkan Bicer, Mehmet Ayan, and Yunus Emre Gonul. Caliskan Okkan Toker advised the sellers on the deal, which is expected to close on October 1, 2020.

The TOCC Attorney Partnership has advised Akbank subsidiary AKLease on its EUR 40 million financing from the EBRD. Dentons reportedly advised the EBRD on the deal.

Ali Selim Demirel has been promoted to Partner at the Esin Attorney Partnership in Turkey.

BTS & Partners has advised TechOne Venture Capital and Twozero Ventures, funds managed by Actus Asset Management, on an unspecified investment in FineDine Digital Menus for Restaurants, Cafes & Bars.

Turkey's Aksan Law Firm has advised Albaraka Asset Management on its investment in Clotie, an e-commerce company that provides personalized clothing services.

Baker McKenzie has advised PKN Orlen on a revolving facility agreement under English law with a consortium of 16 banks. Clifford Chance advised the lenders on the deal.

An interview with Asli Basgoz of White & Case and Emre Ozsar of GKC Partners about their firms’ work on the CEE 2019 Deal of the Year for Turkey: Sisal’s successful bid to operate the Turkish State Lottery.

Bora Kaya, the former Managing Legal Counsel at Gama Power Systems Engineering and Contracting, has become Chief Legal Officer of Gama Holding.

Altug Ozgun, Astella Pharma's Ethics & Compliance Director in Turkey, is joining the recently established Cetinkaya Attorneys-at-Law firm as a Partner. 

Antitrust authorities follow closely the transformation in communication technologies with the intent to preserve the efficiency of their investigative practices and evidence search, during handling their cases. Otherwise the authorities will be on the verge of losing their operability in detecting and proving infringements. A fresh amendment on Turkish Competition Act clarifies Turkish Competition Authority’s (TCA) powers associated with down-raid regarding digital documents. In this brief article, we authored TCA’s recent Burdur LPG Case, TCA imposed fine on LPG retailers of the city of Burdur, based on the evidence extracted from WhatsApp communication between executives of the undertakings.

Turkish lawyers Semih Metin and Seval Cicek have founded the MC Legal law firm in Istanbul.

Stay informed about the latest developments in competition law in Central and Eastern Europe with Schoenherr's multi-jurisdictional newsletter. Each issue offers insight into developments in merger control, anti-trust, as well as public and private enforcement in the region.

Kinstellar has advised Vivense and its CEO and founder, Kemal Erol, on a USD 130 million investment into the company by the Actera Group, a private equity firm focusing on investments in Turkey.

Aksan has advised Paket Mutfak Gayrimenkul Isletmeciligi ve Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi and its shareholders on its latest investment round.

Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki Attorney Partnership has advised Anatolia B.V., a subsidiary of agricultural exporter Tiryaki Agro Foods Industry, on the sale of 25.58% shareholding in Sunrise Foods International Inc. to Hassad Holdings Canada. Dentons advised Tiryaki on English law matters, while Herguner Bilgen Ozeke advised Hassad on the deal.

A recent law proposal which provides significant changes to the Law on Regulation of Broadcasts via Internet and Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts ("Law No. 5651") has been published on Grand National Assembly of Turkey's ("TBMM") website yesterday ("Proposal"). The Proposal mainly introduces obligations on social network providers with over 1 million daily access from Turkey.

Turunc and Cooley have advised US-based private equity fund Riverwood Capital on its investment in Insider, a growth management platform for digital marketers. Riverwood led the USD 32 million investment round, which included participation from Sequoia, Wamda, and Endeavor Catalyst.