CE Partners is a leading Turkish law firm established in 2011 and has since been working in cooperation with Clifford Chance. The Istanbul-headquartered firm has competent Turkish qualified legal practitioners, notably partner Itır Çiftçi and Sait Eryılmaz. The deal team regularly advises large international and Turkish banks, government entities and companies in banking, debt and equity capital markets, M&A and projects work. The team has great capabilities in Türkiye achieving top tier ranking across relevant practice areas.

Highlights 

The firm advised UK Export Finance (UKEF) and Standard Chartered Bank with the €249 million UKEF and KUKE-covered green financing to Kalyon Enerji,

The firm advised BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs International, JP Morgan Securities and Deutsche Bank among others as joint bookrunners on a $500 million senior secured notes issued by WE Soda Holdings Investment.

In M&A the firm recently advised Actera Group on the acquisition of Vector Yatırım Holding and Tam Finans Faktoring by MNT-Halan.

Key clients  

Actis, Arçelik, HSBC, Rönesans Holding and Türkiye Wealth Fund.

Testimonials  

“Their team demonstrated exceptional command over complex legal structures.” – Project finance Client

“They maintained high responsiveness across multiple stakeholders.” – Project finance Client

“Their advice extended beyond legal drafting to strategic risk mitigation.” – Project finance Client

“Sait Eryılmaz, Basar Kirka, and Melisa Mengü consistently led key workstreams with professionalism and clarity. Their ability to work across jurisdictions, manage multi-party negotiations, and deliver under pressure was repeatedly praised by sponsors.” – Project finance Client

“What impressed us most is the combination of deep project finance expertise and strong commercial acumen. The team has an exceptional ability to anticipate lender sensitivities while ensuring the sponsor’s strategic objectives remain intact. They are highly responsive and available, often going beyond expectations to address urgent issues. Their advice is consistently clear, pragmatic, and solution-oriented, not just theoretical. They also demonstrate strong cross-border coordination, leveraging Clifford Chance’s global network while providing highly tailored local insight. This blend makes them stand out as a trusted partner for sponsors in large-scale infrastructure financings.” – Project finance Client

“We are very much satisfied with CE Partners’ service.  We benefit from their cross-border capabilities, experience due to involvement in nearly all major financings in Turkey and commercial approach.  We feel that we can always rely on their legal advice.  They are good at turning their technical legal capabilities to practical solutions.” – Restructuring Client

“"Basar played a central role in drafting and revising critical legal documents. He ensured smooth communication and alignment across stakeholders: Basar was instrumental in pushing documents to execution." - Basar Kirka

“Başar has shown an exceptional blend of legal expertise and commercial acumen. His knowledge of Turkish law as it applies to complex project documents is outstanding, and he has an impressive ability to interpret and explain local legal nuances in a way that is practical and actionable for sponsors. He also has a very commercial mindset, consistently aligning legal advice with the financial and strategic objectives of the project. His clarity, responsiveness, and proactive approach make him a highly reliable advisor in high-stakes transactions.” - Basar Kirka

“We know that Başar has long term experience in the banking and finance area and is one of the key contacts in the market.  Also, he always finds solutions that work for all parties when negotiations are locked. He is also easy to reach and always willing to assist us.  He is good at overall transaction management and able to maintain good relationship with all parties involved.” - Basar Kirka