The Turunc Law Firm has advised Vinci Venture Capital on its equity investment in smart clothing company Thread in Motion. The Gemicioglu law firm represented Thread in Motion on the investment round, in which StartersHub and various angel investors participated. The amount of Vinci's investment was not disclosed.

Turunc has advised Vinci Venture Capital on its investment into Octovan.

Turunc, working with global counsel Travers Smith, has advised IT company Micro Focus on the USD 2.535 billion sale of SUSE, its open-source software business, to Swedish private equity group EQT Partners. Latham & Watkins and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy advised the buyers on the acquisition.

The Turunc Law Firm has advised Turkish chemicals maker Egesil Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. on a EUR 15 million loan from the EBRD to to increase production of precipitated silica, a key component of energy-efficient tires that reduce carbon emissions.

Turunc and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have advised worldwide automotive supplier Valeo on the sale of its passive hydraulic actuation division to Raicam, executed to obtain regulatory clearance for Valeo's planned takeover of German clutch manufacturer FTE. Italy's Studio Legale Gullo & Associati advised the buyers.

Turunc, working aside international counsel Holman Fenwick Willan, has advised International Container Terminal Services on its acquisition of a 65% stake in Turkish port manager Evyap Deniz Isletmeciligi. Guzeldere & Balkan advised the sellers on the deal.

Turunc has advised Taxim Capital on its acquisition of 51% of Turkey's Suwen lingerie and underwear manufacturer and retailer for an undisclosed price.

The Turkish Law on Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey (the “Law”) entered into force on April 20, 2016, replacing its predecessor (the Law on Turkish Human Rights Institution).

The Turkish Law on Industrial Property (the “Law”) was published and entered into force on January 10, 2017.

Turkey’s first data protection and privacy law (the “Law”) came into force on April 7, 2016. The Law, which is largely in line with the EU’s Data Protection Directive, aims to safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals, in particular their right to privacy, with respect to the processing of their personal data.

Turunc provided Turkish legal advice and the Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm acted as Greek legal advisor to Israel's Rivulis Irrigation Ltd. in relation to its acquisition of 100% of the shares in the Greek company Eurodrip SA from US fund Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC. Israel's Naschitz, Brandes, Amir & Co. was lead counsel for the buyers, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and A. S. Papadimitriou & Partners advised the sellers.

I have been doing deals in the CEE region in one capacity or another for over a decade now. My initial introduction to the region was during my time in New York and London with Cleary Gottlieb where I frequently instructed local law firms in the region on cross-border transactions.

Many years in the making, the Istanbul Arbitration Centre (“ISTAC” or the “Centre”) was finally established in 2015 and began picking up steam in 2016. The first plans to form an arbitration Centre in Istanbul were laid out by the Turkish government in 2009 as part of the country’s action plan and broader strategy to make Istanbul a bigger financial hub.

The Turunc law firm has advised Peoplise on investment it received from 500 Startups venture capital fund. The Aksan law firm advised the investors on the matter. 

On July 15, 2016, the streets of Istanbul and Ankara erupted in violence during a surprise – and ultimately unsuccessful – coup d’etat attempt against the Turkish government and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. By the time the coup had been put down, over 300 people had been killed and more than 2,100 were injured. 

Turunc has advised Taxim Capital on its acquisition of a 40% stake in the Turkish casual dining chain Big Chefs from current shareholders Gamze Cizreli and Saruhan Tan, each of whom had their 50% shares in the company diluted. The Pelister Atayilmaz Enkur Law Office (PAE) advised the sellers on the deal.

The Turunc law firm has advised Elba HR (now being rebranded as Peoplise) on investment into the company by Revo Capital. BTS & Partners advised Revo on the investment, which was part of the Borsa Istanbul Private Market (BIST).

The Buzz is a short summary of the major and relevant topics of interest in Central and Eastern Europe, provided by those best positioned to know: law firm partners and legal journalists/commentators on the ground in each CEE country.