Kinstellar and its Turkish affiliate Gen Temizer Ozer, working with Ashurst, have advised British Petroleum on the sale of its downstream business in Turkiye to Vitol Turkish subsidiary Petrol Ofisi. Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli advised Vitol and Petrol Ofisi on the deal.
Financial details were not disclosed. According to Kinstellar, the transaction is the most significant oil & gas deal of recent times in Turkiye and is expected to close in 2024.
The deal includes BP's shares in BP Turkey Refining Limited and BP Petrolleri. BP Turkey Refining Limited holds a 51% stake in the ATAS Anadolu Tasfiyehanesi joint venture.
According to Vitol, "on completion, it is expected that Petrol Ofisi will have a network of around 2,700 service stations in Turkiye, an improved presence in major cities, underpinned by a strategic storage and infrastructure network. A network of around 770 BP-branded retail sites will be rebranded under Petrol Ofisi following completion."
"We are very excited by this opportunity to build a stronger strategic platform to serve the Turkish market. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues in due course," Petrol Ofisi CEO Mehmet Abbasoglu commented.
The Vitol group acquired OMV Petrol Ofisi from OMV back in 2017 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 14, 2017).
The Kinstellar and Gen Temizer Ozer team included Partners Baran Gen and Bulut Girgin, Counsel Mert Elcin, Senior Associate Seyma Olgun, and Associates Sila Ozge Sayli, Dilara Demir, Osman Tugberk Cakirca, Orcun Horozoglu, and Simru Tayfun.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli announced the composition of its team including Managing Partner Umut Kolcuoglu, Counsels Begum Incecam and Neyzar Unubol, Managing Associate Busra Ozden, Senior Associates Ipek Yuksel and Ali Tunssav, and Associates Berkay Unel, Irem Okur, Elif Seyda Oluklu, Serra Nur Kahvecioglu, Esen Cakir, Orcan Cetinkaya, and Berkan Ozer. Kolcuoglu and Incecam (then a Senior Associate) were also part of KDK's team that worked on the 2017 deal.
