IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

Turkey in recent times has experienced serious growth and this is reflected in how quickly it came out of the global crisis. Of course, the economy was affected to some degree by the credit crunch, but now partners in the country are saying that the main problems are over with and Turkey is beginning to thrive once more.

"2011 has been steady, but in 2012 we expect an extremely strong year," comments one partner. Lawyers broadly agree that the impact of the financial crisis "has almost gone." With just some residues remaining: "Banks are still very picky," says a finance partner.

The big news is the new commercial codes that will come into power officially on July 1 2012. This is a sea change in the legislative landscape in Turkey and opinion is almost unanimously in favour.

"These changes are very, very important. We have needed these renovations for a long time... [it] enables investors to get in to Turkey without the hassle of securing a lot of shareholders, for instance," remarks one partner, while another adds that the "new codes will bring a high new level of sophistication to the Turkish economy and the law [and] in almost all aspects it will be facilitating foreign investment."

Elsewhere, firms are beginning to see a broader pool of foreign investors, a key aspect of the market. "We have diversification, with investors from China, South Korea, the Gulf, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Russia all involved," says a lawyer.

Key attractions to investors are infrastructure and the government's privatisation programme which, say lawyers, "is a real hotspot and very much on the government's agenda". "The privatisation of motorways and bridges will be a massive investment, and will probably come in after the elections [June 2011]."

Despite banking lagging a little behind, both corporate and capital markets have performed well over the last year. "We have had a few mandates for public offerings and there will be more this year. The market is really picking up," says one partner while another adds that "the new codes will make a definitive impact here... IPO's will be much easier, and there will be new structures for IPOs, buyouts and acquisition finance."

Project finance is also a fertile area for growth. According to one firm, project finance "was very active in the past... and is now coming back. Privatisations and infrastructure are going to be big and will really get going after the elections. Energy never loses interest. Renewables are very hot, and wind is popular."

"New nuclear power plants will be a massive project finance issue," adds another, although "there are a lot of considerations with one of the sites too close to an earthquake zone and with the events in Japan people are not all happy with it"

A final trend reflects the country's strategic geographical location. Partners say that recent unrest in the Middle East has meant "companies are wanting to locate their production and distribution in Turkey".

"[It] is the most secure jurisdiction in the area," says a lawyer, "a lot of Egyptian companies especially want to be in Turkey. Telecoms and construction are definitely looking to relocate, mainly from Libya and Egypt".

In the other direction, Turkish companies are now reaching out to invest in the region. "I have actually seen a lot of outside investing. Construction companies have been going offshore for a while but there are Turkish entities buying companies in Romania, Bulgaria and even Germany. I'd say if it was 10% before it is about 30% now. They are looking to establish a global brand by using distressed European companies," explains a corporate practitioner.

Overall it is a changeable and exciting time for the Turkish legal market, with international firms becoming more and more active.

"The legal sector in Turkey has been growing and has seen a lot of change. There have been a lot of spin-offs and international firms are getting seriously involved. Competition has been amplified over the past few years and fees have really dropped," says one domestic partner, while another is more bullish: "I'm not worried at all about the international firms, as there are a lot of deals going on and there will be enough work for everyone."

The trend to look out for is that these smaller, spin-off firms might be looking to merge their operations further down the line: "It is a small market so mergers might be possible. All the lawyers know each other, are friends, worked together, but successful mergers in Turkey are difficult as no one wants to give up their own stakes," says another domestic partner, while a colleague is more certain: "I think in the coming years there will be a lot of mergers of these small firms to make bigger ones."

Akol, which is White & Case's base in Istanbul, has come out of a bit of a rough period to present a market leading presence across almost all the areas, with its relatively low-ranked project finance practice being praised too.

"We feel Akol does credible project finance work, and could go up," comments a projects partner. The corporate practice is the only thing that anyone has any reservations about, as one partner observes: "I am not sure about Akol anymore. They have lost two partners and I haven't seen them much over the last year."

Overall however, market feedback is strong: "Akol are solid, and Meltem Akol is very good," comments one partner, while another peer concedes: "Akol deserve to be up there in the top tier, definitely."

The firm is described by one peer as "one of the three most active in capital markets". Meltom Akol and Ceren Sen advised construction company Yuksel Insaat on a $200 million high-yield bond offering of 9.5% coupon senior notes due 2015. The banking team moved to increase its expertise this year, hiring Guniz Gokce as partner from Gide Loyrette Nouel. The team has been doing some regulatory work but has also been active on some rare restructuring mandates. On one the team is acted for Avon Automotive, a subsidiary of Petrol Automotive Holdings, and Automotive UK Holdings with regard to a credit agreement from Jefferies Finance and Barclays, among others.

A very big deal came on the corporate side, and again involved Meltem Akol. She led a team advising BBVA, the second largest bank in Spain, as it acquired a 24.9% stake in Turkiye Garanti Bankasi, a leading private sector bank, for $5.9 billion. One of the largest M&A deals last year, the transaction completed in the latter stages of 2010.

Bener Law Office would appear to be a firm very much on an upward trajectory, with many in the market remarking that, across the board, it is improving. Although not moved this year, Bener is pushing at promotion in all areas and in banking and capital markets especially.

"We did an IPO with Bener and they are good. They are trying to enlarge their practice," comments one partner, while another describes them as having "excellent personal skills" and as "solid."

In project finance, a partner remarks that Bener is "large and aggressive, and could possibly go up to tier two," while in banking one peer reports: "Bener, on the strength of its work, and the fact they do a lot of deals, could be looking to tier one."

In banking, a good deal was a long term one, advising both World Bank and the IFC (International Finance Corporation) on a number of loan facilities extended to Turkish banks across both 2010 and 2011. Head of department Win Michaelsen and partner Gozde Esen Sakar acted on these deals, which represented an overall value of $110 million.

In capital markets, the firm worked on both sides, advising Kiler Retail on its $72.6 million IPO in January 2011 and a major Turkish holding company as issuer on a confidential international bond offering. The team also got involved in some confidential structured finance work, advising the issuer bank on a number of SME loan securitisations.

On the corporate side Bener has been advising US company Tiger Global Management on three different investments into Turkey throughout 2010, as well as acting for global internet giant eBay on its acquisition of Gitti Gidiyor, Turkey's largest online retailer.

The projects team highlight mandate saw a team led by partners Onur Kordel and Gozde Esen Sakar acting for the Kolin-Limak-Cenzig consortium as borrower on the $2.2 billion financing of the purchase of two privatised electricity distribution companies, UEDAS-CEDAS.

Bezen & Partners is a firm relatively new to the market, set up by former Magic Circle attorneys and boasting a neat finance practice.

The firm also has had a number of corporate mandates however, including a team led by partners Nadia Cansun and Serdar Bezen advising Trelleborg, the international corporation based in Sweden, with regards to a €60 million transfer of its concerns as part of a wholesale global restructuring in December 2010.

It is in finance where Bezen really flourishes however, and the firm has continued to advise the Project Company and other Russian sponsors with regard to the development of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, the first nuclear plant in Turkey and the largest project finance deal in Turkey to date with a value of $22 billion.

Bezen is also working on a deal with a serious international dimension, advising a South African banking group on €90 million of financing for the development and operation of Skopje, Ohrid and Shtip airports in Macedonia in December 2010.

"Birsel is a firm I respect. I was in the library the other day looking for a book and I found a book by Mr Birsel from 1975, I was four years old at that time," comments one partner. It is a solid and respected firm that has an enviable pedigree in the Turkish market.

It is the banking, finance and projects teams that have arguably enjoyed the best year, with a deal list studded with sizeable mandates including a number of new financings.

One of these deals entailed a team, led by Begum Durukan Ozaydin, advising Ojer Telekomunikasyon on an OTAS secured financing deal. The $1.35 billion of financing was provided by Akbank, Citibank (London), Deutsche Bank (London), RBS and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi in March 2011.

The firm's projects work entailed a clutch of refinancing and restructuring of deals, including a $2.6 billion restructuring for ISKEN, the first coal-fired power plant constructed and run by the private sector. On this deal Birsel advised the senior lenders, which included Dresdner, KfW, West LB and ABSA as the existing security for the previous financing was renegotiated so that the sponsors could develop another new power plant.

On the corporate side, the team conducted due diligence into RTL's acquisition of a share in Dogan Yavin Holding and also acted for Dassault Systemes on the Turkish aspects of its acquisition of Project Life Cycle Management software distribution business of the computing giant IBM, both deals completing in late 2010.

Çakmak is the counterpart office of Akol, representing White & Case's presence in the capital Ankara. The firm boasts a top-drawer project finance practice that bases itself on possessing a good specialism with energy projects which, allied to its location in Ankara, allows the firm to secure big mandates.

"Çakmak are very good, and always have been," says one finance partner, while another adds: "Çakmak has been very active, and are really very good."

The two biggest projects from the past 12 months are still ongoing concerns. On one, the firm is acting as counsel for Petrobras with regard to Black Sea oil exploration and other development financing of €1 billion, while the other sees the team advising Evonik Steag with regard to a $1.25 billion 600MW imported coal-fired power plant to be built at Iskenderum adjacent to an existing 1210MW plant.

The other area in which Çakmak is strong is in banking, including rendering regulatory advice to both Visa Europe and Bank Julius Baer and in June 2010 the team restructured $235 million in existing term loan and credit facilities for Trakya Elektrik through an amendment agreement.

In capital markets, Çakmak teamed up with Akol to advise Goldman Sachs International and JPMorgan Securities as joint global coordinators and Ak Yatirim Menkul Degerler as domestic coordinators on the $436 million IPO of leading Turkish gold mining company Koza; the deal represented one of the largest IPOs in Turkey since the crisis.

M&A has been fairly quiet for the firm, though leading lawyer Sebnem Onder did advise mining giant Rio Tinto on the sale of a Turkish subsidiary to Park Cam, itself a member of the Ciner Group of Turkish companies.

CCAO Law set up in June 2010 and immediately became Kinstellar's affiliate office in Turkey. The firm is most prominent in finance work, but also maintains a corporate capability too, and peers in the market are already sitting up and taking note.

"I have been impressed by CCAO. They have an ex-Linklaters partner I like [Charles Dunn]," comments one competitor.

On one strong mandate, the firm advised Rabobank on the establishment of $100 million of Turkish-governed security including pledges of movable commodities in December 2010. In 2011, the team also advised a clutch of confidential construction clients on the refinancing of a working capital facility of €130 million in April 2011.

The M&A team did work on a handful of multimillion dollar deals, although the most interesting was perhaps not the biggest, as it advised the founders of Noktacom Medya Internet Hizmetleri Sanayi ve Ticaret on the sale of their sale of a 20% stake in the company. The interesting aspect is the buyer, as it was Intel's venture capital concern Intel Capital Corporation closing its first investment in Turkey.

Like a lot of projects teams, CCAO was involved in a number of mandates pertaining to the energy sector, including acting for a confidential client on a $2 billion deal related to a nuclear power plant in the country. A good real estate deal was also done by the firm as partner Halide Cetinkaya advised Akbank on a $600 million facility to the Zorlu Group by a single Turkish bank for construction of the Zorlu Centre, a significantly large residential and commercial project in Istanbul

A corporate heavyweight, Cerrahoglu maintains its leading position in the rankings this year after market feedback indicated that it still provides a good service despite enhanced competition.

"Cerrahoglu is an old firm with good lawyers," observes one rival peer, while clients are extremely happy with the firm. "They have a very knowledgeable and experienced team," says one, while another adds: "They are excellent. I would recommend their legal services to anyone without the slightest hesitation."

The corporate team partner and leading lawyer Selen Güres led on the firm's highlight M&A deal, heading a team advising Dogan Sirketler Grubu Holding as it sold 54.1% of its shares in Petrol Ofisi to OMV Enerji Holdings for €1 billion.

This corporate focus is not to say the firm is not active in other areas though, and it did have a very good deal in the capital markets. This was a team, helmed by leading lawyer Sezin Turan, advising Akbank with regard to a $1 billion issuance of 5.125% coupon notes (due 2015). The deal was unique as the notes were registered with the capital markets board in Turkey to be sold only outside the country, the first time a Turkish issuer directly had done an issue of this type.

Esin is a firm very much associated with the corporate side of the market: "Esin is more of an M&A firm than anything else," says one partner, and it is true it is a firm pushing at the top tier in this area.

However others in the market are slightly sceptical as to its capital markets capabilities and visibility, which sees the firm in danger of dropping a tier here. "I have never considered Esin as a capital markets firm at all," remarks one competitor and another agrees: "Esin are not active on IPOs."

"Esin could drop to tier three, as it is just not active," offers another partner.

Despite this view, the firm was not completely dormant in this area and did complete a good debt markets deal this year, advising Yapi Kredi, one of the largest Turkish private banks, on its $700 million bond issue. In M&A the firm, led by Ismail Esin, advised Global Buyout Fund and its subsidiary GB Retail Investments Holding on the $67 million acquisition of a 50.1% stake in Yargici Konfeksiyon, a leading high street textiles company owned by the Yargici Family.

The firm's M&A team did continue its pattern of growth from last year, taking on a handful of associates and a senior associate too.

GSI Meridian is a firm that has a focus on energy work, a specialisation that has served it well in recent times as this sector has gone from strength to strength. The team has also grown rapidly over the past 12 months with no fewer than seven new faces added at both associate and senior counsellor level in the finance practice and the emerging corporate practice hiring six associates and making up to partner Lale Deliveli, who was previously a senior associate at White & Case.

A deal that represents the ability of the project finance team at GSI well is its advising of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (Socar). A team consisting of Ali Goksu, Hasan Okur and Serhat Veyisoglu is advising Socar on its affiliate Socar Turcas Refinery's (STRAS) project to build a new refinery in the Izmir province of Turkey. The team also advised another affiliate of Socar, Petkim, on a related project to develop the port for the refinery.

The corporate team has also established itself quickly. A team comprised of Ali Gosku, Lale Deliveli and Engin Ozdegirmenci advised the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality on the ongoing privatisation of IGDAS, a major natural gas distribution company.

The all-round heavyweight in the Turkish legal market, HBO once more maintains its top tier rankings this year by continuing to use its large headcount to provide strength in all areas. In M&A, Hergüner are definitely one of the main players" says one competitor, while another adds that "in the markets, Hergüner are among the most active three". Finance partner Gökhan Eraksoy receives specific praise from peers in project finance.

Clients praise the creativity of the teams they've worked with. "I was impressed. Our transactions always require innovative solutions and they came up with them," says one banking client.

The projects team has been breaking ground this year, advising on a clutch of pioneering deals within the energy sector. A team led by Eraksoy advised the Yeni Elektrik Uretim on the structure, construction, testing and overall commission of an 865 MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant located in Gebze with a $700 million facility from a group of four banks. The biggest deal for the firm this year undoubtedly came for its M&A team. It advised Mey Icki, an alcoholic drinks company owned by TPG Capital and Actera, on its acquisition by international beverage giant Diageo. The deal represents a large private equity exit from Turkey and, despite some work still continuing, the transaction was signed off in February 2011 for a figure of around $2.1 billion.

The banking and capital markets teams were by no means dormant either, with the banking team under universally respected partner Hakki Gedik completing a very noteworthy deal for a bank syndicate led by Citibank, RBS and Deutsche Bank on the $1.3 billion of financing for OTAS, a subsidiary of Ojer Telecom, which now controls the recently privatised Turk Telekom.

Kolcuoglu & Demirkan has emerged from its rebranding, continuing its strategy to grow in finance while still maintaining a strong corporate presence.

They have succeeded in some ways, as partner Umut Kolcuoglu advised Wittur Turkey and its German counterpart on a €175 million multi-currency revolving credit facility from UniCredit in Luxembourg in March 2011.

The firm also broke into energy financing, with partner Okan Demirkan heading a team advising BP, on behalf of the Shah Deniz Consortium, a group that includes Total, Statoil and Socar, with regard to a major natural gas sale and distribution deal. The project entails the transit of gas from Azerbaijan and through Turkey on to Europe using the existing network, an important aspect of the project, which hopes to make Turkey a transit hub.

It is M&A where Kolcuoglu & Demirkan is really strong, with smart mandates coming its way over the past 12 months. A notable deal is Umut Kolcuoglu's and Serhan Koçaklı's advising of the Sancak Group on its $50 million acquisition of Palmed Saglik Hizmetleri, a company that owns a hospital building in the country.

Mehmet Gün & Partners is another firm that styles itself as a corporate specialist, advising on mergers, acquisitions and joint venture deals. The team is built around Sebnem Isik, who has been very active this year, with a number of deals for pharmaceutical clients.

On one mandate the team, led by Isik, was advising a large international pharmaceutical client on its €14 million transfer to the Turkish market. On a pure acquisition deal the firm advised a Netherlands-based subsidiary of a major advertising company on its $3 million acquisition of a 51% stake in a Turkish public relations company in December 2010.

Moroglu Arseven is well respected within the litigation field and firms are quick to point to its strength in this area. The firm also maintains a solid financial and corporate practice, though for some in the market the firm's work in this area is not as visible in comparison to its litigious mandates: "Moroglu have no activity, they are however active in arbitration," observes a partner. This view is countered however by the firm's deal list which includes a number of notable deals in both M&A and capital markets.

The firm continues to be ranked in M&A and is currently advising on a joint venture which is aimed toward producing bridge construction materials to market in Turkey, a potentially savvy move when you consider the privatisation of bridges going on at the moment in the country.

The firm has also had involvement with capital markets work, drafting security agreements for two companies with regards to gas oil stock financing, a significant deal value-wise and due to the essential nature of the pledge agreement under Turkish law put in place.

Elsewhere the banking team is working on the creation of a direct debit system for the distributors of an electronic equipment manufacturer. It is the largest direct debit system in Turkey and involves the country's four largest banks. The team is also currently rendering advisory services to a New York law firm with regards to a pledge agreement deal between a company and a global accountancy firm.

Although not strictly speaking a projects firm, Moroglu does have one or two mandates currently running in the area and did finalise an agreement for a property renovation on the Bosphorus, a deal that completed in January 2011 for a multimillion dollar figure.

The office of international firm Salans in Turkey, Özel & Özel is another long-standing firm that offers a depth of experience in the market. Despite enjoying a steady year, which sees its tier placings held, partners do remark that the firm has fallen off the radar a little in M&A.

"I really don't see Özel & Özel in M&A, I wonder if they are active at all," comments one peer. The corporate team was not helped by the departure of partner Ekin Gokkilic to YükselKarkinKüçük at the end of 2010 either.

Despite this, the M&A team did have some good deals this year, including a team led by Selim Keki advising OMV in its €1 billion purchase of 54.1% of Petrol Ofisi, the largest petrol retailer in Turkey. OMV previously held 41.58% of the company and with this stake will take its holding to 95.75%. The deal represents one of the largest M&A deals in the market in 2010.

A team led by Haluk Can Özel is also advising the Privatisation Administration of the Republic of Turkey on an ongoing basis regarding the selling of state-owned electric generation facilities, including 56 micro hydroelectric, 18 thermoelectric and 27 hydroelectric power plants.

In banking, a highlight deal saw Özel advise Bainbridge Holding on the refinancing of an outstanding loan of $240 million, in addition to obtaining a further $25 million term loan facility from Akbank.

Elsewhere, the projects team did some tidy mid-market deals, including advising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the provision of a €45 million loan to the Continental Confectionary Company Gida Sanayi.

In the markets, Kaan Saadetlioglu led a team advising Lider Faktorking Hizmetleri, a company that provides financing of receivables, on its €25 million domestic and international bond offerings listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

The overwhelming market opinion is that Paksoy merits its high positions, though the firm does display differing abilities and levels of visibility across different areas.

Capital markets appear fairly strong, with competitors happy to praise the firm: "Paksoy could be looking to be moved up, we see them a lot," while another peer agrees: "We see a lot of Paksoy, they could be tier one."

The main deal for the markets team over the previous period was its advising of the joint lead managers Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Standard Chartered and JPMorgan, on the debut bond issue by Akbank, a financial institution that represents Turkey's largest lender in terms of market value. Worth around $1 billion, the five-year bond was issued in late July 2010.

Other areas are stronger for the firm however, as partners explain. "In banking, Paksoy is OK there, it is solid," remarks a finance partner, while in M&A a corporate partner comments on the firm being conspicuous by its absence: "I haven't actually seen an awful lot of Paksoy in recent times."

Seemingly contradicting this, the M&A team at the firm has had a respectable year, with a number of multibillion Euro deals completed. One particularly notable deal was advising BNP Paribas on the €15 billion merger of Fortis Bank and Turk Ekonomi, a led by corporate expert Serdar Paksoy, which involved post-merger restructuring and regulatory work.

Serdar Paksoy also led the team that advising GE Capital on its $3.7 billion sale of an 18.6% stake in Turkey's second largest bank Garanti to Spanish banking group BBVA in March 2011.

The firm's banking practice mainly concerned itself with project financing, including advising Akbank on the $67.5 million financing for the construction of two hydroelectric plants at Yedigol and Aksu. Partner Togan Turan is also currently engaged in advising Isbank, TSKB and YapiKredi banks with regard to a $280 million loan to an energy developer, which is expected to complete before the end of the year.

Pekin & Bayar is a full service firm that does possess a particularly good reputation in capital markets and M&A work. "For capital markets work, I wouldn't use anyone else. On M&A too, they would probably be my choice," says one client.

Client feedback is consistently excellent, with a number of qualities referenced. "The main feature of the office and its attorneys is reliability. They do not make statements if they are not sure and do their research and get back to you within the shortest possible time with the correct answer," says a banking client, while a corporate client points to the team's initiative: "We have always been extremely happy with all advice and services provided. These are also frequently of a proactive nature, which we appreciate a lot."

In M&A a team led by Bayar advised Gitti Gidiyor Bilgi Teknolojileri on its acquisition by eBay International in April 2011. The leading online marketplace in Turkey, Gitti Gidivor was a natural target for eBay, the biggest company of its kind in the world.

The banking team, with Selin Bayar and Sila Yavuz leading, assisted the National Bank of Greece and the Dublin branch of Rabobank as lenders of a series of facilities agreements totalling $600 million to Coca-Cola Icecek, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Jordan, Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers and CCI International Holland. The transaction was finalised in March 2011.

Typically a preferred counsel for Credit Suisse, the capital markets team received two mandates from them this year. In the most significant, Bayar led a team to advise the bank on the $88 million IPO of Aksa Enerji Uretim, including shares offered to institutional investors outside the US and Turkey as well as a public offering of shares to investors in Turkey.

A long-standing firm with a highly respected banking practice, Pekin & Pekin has registered a solid year but there is a body of opinion in the market that says in some areas the firm is showing signs of slipping. This is particularly true in capital markets, with a number of peers remarking on Pekin & Pekin's low level of visibility.

"Pekin & Pekin should be in tier two. They are not active, we never see them," comments a capital markets lawyer, while another adds: "Pekin & Pekin I am not sure of here. They are not in IPOs."

With regards to M&A, a corporate lawyer remarks: "Pekin & Pekin don't have any practice, or at least I haven't seen them too much. They are not a strong player." It is not all bad though, as rivals acknowledge the firm's expertise in other areas: "Pekin & Pekin is very good on syndicated loans and all other finance work," says one.

The deal flow for the banking team confirms this, with lawyers advising on a number of deals for borrowers and lenders. The standout is undoubtedly a multibillion Euro financing deal for a petroleum company, while on the projects side the firm has been involved in a number of energy deals.

This energy work also spilled into the corporate side, with the team involved on a series of energy-related refinancings as well as the cross-border acquisition of a chain of Turkish hotels.

In the capital markets, the firm was involved most notably in the issuance of Samurai bonds, which are Yen-denominated securities put out in Tokyo under Japanese regulations but by a non-Japanese company. The issue in this case represented a multibillion dollar figure and was the first such issuance for many years from Turkey.

YKK was the talk of the market last year as it secured a partnership with international firm DLA Piper, and it would appear that this link-up has been a positive one as the firm moves up a tier in banking and presses for a move in project finance, while representing a solid presence elsewhere.

Over the course of the last 12 months the firm has grown in size, adding a number of international senior associates, which give a greater breadth to the team, as well as adding partner Ekin Gokkilic, who joined as partner from Özel & Özel in January 2011.

The banking team is currently engaged on a number of significant mandates, including advising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on its equity investment into a mid-market Turkish company. The team has also carved a niche for itself advising on all manner of Islamic Finance instruments, including murabaha (deferred sale) and sukuks (Islamic bonds). In particular YKK is advising Asya Katilum Bankasi on an ongoing basis with regard to this kind of work.

In the capital markets, much of the firm's work is under confidentiality, but YKK has been active advising the Bank of Tokyo as regards the trading of derivatives on markets within Turkey.

M&A has been strong for the firm, with leading lawyer Cuneyt Yüksel heading the teams on two noteworthy deals. In 2011 teams advised a leading private equity house on its $112 million acquisition of a majority stake in a private education establishment in March 2011 and Enel Green Power on a joint venture in Turkey with a local investor to develop at least four 100MW geothermal power plants, each for requiring investments of €90 million of investment each.