M&A and corporate project coordination

We focus on cross-border China-Turkey transactions: Chinese groups acquiring Turkish targets, Sino-Turkish joint ventures, minority investments, and Chinese strategic exits from Turkish positions. Deal sizes typically range from USD 2M to USD 100M+. We coordinate the project at every stage: target screening, the valuation (prepared by an independent valuation firm or an authorised financial adviser), due diligence (legal, tax and commercial, each performed by the relevant Turkish professionals), the structure (designed by counsel and chartered accountants), commercial negotiation, closing, and post-merger integration. Financing, capital raising, or any securities component is handled by institutions authorised for it.

For a clean mid-market deal (USD 5 to 30M): 4 to 8 months from engagement to closing, with several stages running in parallel. Stages: target identification 2 to 4 weeks, term sheet 4 to 6 weeks, due diligence 6 to 10 weeks, share-purchase agreement 4 to 6 weeks, regulatory clearances 4 to 8 weeks, closing 2 to 4 weeks. Larger deals or those requiring competition clearance run longer. We provide a project plan with milestones in the first week.

Most do not. Turkey is open to foreign direct investment without sector-by-sector pre-approval; restrictions apply in defence, broadcasting (foreign ownership capped at 50 percent), civil aviation, maritime cabotage and Turkish-flag shipping, and real estate in military or security zones, while energy, banking, and mining have their own licensing regimes. Ports are open to foreign buyers: a Chinese consortium of COSCO Pacific, China Merchants Holdings, and CIC bought 65 percent of Istanbul's Kumport terminal in 2015. Competition Authority (Rekabet Kurumu) clearance is required when the 2026 turnover thresholds (in force since 11 February 2026) are met: combined Turkish turnover above TRY 3 billion with at least two parties each above TRY 1 billion, or a target with Turkish turnover above TRY 1 billion and another party with worldwide turnover above TRY 9 billion (TRY 250 million for Turkish technology targets). The Investment Office of the Presidency (Invest in Türkiye) is supportive, not a gatekeeper. We coordinate any required filings.

Chinese buyers face two structural challenges that Western buyers do not: (1) outbound approval (ODI), Chinese outbound investment of any amount needs NDRC and MOFCOM filings (prior approval for sensitive projects) plus FX registration through a bank under SAFE rules, with strict scrutiny of non-rational investments; the framework is the State Council Provisions on Outbound Investment (Order No. 837), in force since 1 July 2026; (2) payment channels, funds can be remitted directly only once the NDRC and MOFCOM filings and the bank FX registration are complete; a Hong Kong or Singapore holding company is an optional structuring choice, not a requirement. We coordinate the Chinese-side ODI work with the Turkish-side deal, most deal failures we see come from one side not understanding the other.

Standard scope: (1) legal, corporate documents, contracts, litigation, IP, real estate, labour; (2) tax, Turkish corporate income tax, KDV, withholding, transfer pricing, social security; (3) financial, quality-of-earnings analysis, working capital, debt-like items; (4) commercial, customer concentration, supplier risk, market positioning; (5) compliance, AML, sanctions, anti-bribery, environmental. The five workstreams run in parallel, each performed by Turkish-qualified specialists and coordinated by us; legal due diligence is carried out by an independent Turkish lawyer you engage.

Yes. We routinely coordinate the setup of Turkish LLCs (Ltd. Şti.) and Joint-Stock Companies (A.Ş.) for Chinese parents. Standard timeline: about 3 to 4 weeks to an operational entity (registration, tax ID, bank account). The articles of association and shareholder resolutions are prepared by an independent Turkish lawyer, who files the registration through MERSIS with the Trade Registry Directorate, and a notary certifies signatures, powers of attorney, and any share transfers; KEP corporate email setup and first-year accounting by the Turkish chartered accountant; we manage the project and the bilingual workflow. For Chinese groups planning significant Turkish operations we recommend considering a holding structure with a Turkish opco, and we coordinate tax and FX modelling with your chartered accountant before you commit.