Ayşe Yüksel

Partner

Practice Description

Ayşe Yüksel is the Managing Partner of the Istanbul Office and heads the MENA/Turkey Corporate Practice Group. She has extensive experience in a range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, privatizations, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and financing transactions.

Ms. Yüksel regularly represents companies, private equity funds, sovereign wealth and other investment funds and financial institutions in cross-border transactions, specifically in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

Ms. Yüksel also has significant experience representing non-U.S. issuers in Rule 144A/Regulation S securities offerings. Her industry expertise includes the telecommunications, media, retail and healthcare sectors.

Representative Matters

• Represented the Privatization Administration of the Republic of Turkey in its sale of a 23.9% stake in Türkiye Halk Bankası A.Ş. via a secondary public offering including a Rule 144A/Regulation S global equity offering. The transaction was the largest capital markets offering of a Turkish issuer to date, with proceeds exceeding $2.5 billion.
• Represented AES Entek, a joint venture between Koç Holding A.Ş. and AES Corporation, in the proposed acquisition of a power company in Turkey.
• Represented Denham Capital in a proposed investment in the Turkish energy sector.
• Represented Reysas real estate investment company in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S global equity offering. 
• Represented Koza Altin A.Ş., a Turkish natural resources company, in connections with its Rule 144A/Regulation S global equity offering.  
• Represented The Carlyle Group in its acquisition of a 40% stake in Medical Park Hospital Group, Turkey's second largest healthcare services company.
• Represented Koç Holding A.Ş. in the sale of its majority stake in Migros Türk A.Ş., after an auction process, to a consortium led by the private equity firm BC Partners, in the largest private equity transaction in Turkey to date. Migros is the largest retailer in Turkey with over 14,800 employees and 900 stores.
• Represented a United Arab Emirates fund in its minority investment in a regional telecommunications company.
• Represented Alghanim Industries, in joint venture with Saint-Gobain, in the acquisition of a controlling stake in İzocam Ticaret ve Sanayi A.Ş. 
• Represented Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) in an energy joint venture in the Middle East.
• Represented EIIC in the acquisition of a minority stake in an industrial company in North Africa.
• Represented a foreign media corporation in its preliminary bid to acquire the media assets of the Çukurova Group in Turkey.
• Represented Vestel Beyaz Eşya, a Turkish white goods manufacturer, in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S global equity offering.
• Represented Bank Asya Katılım Bankası, a Turkish participation bank, in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S global equity offering.
• Represented Albaraka Türk, a Turkish participation bank, in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S global equity offering.
• Represented Saudi Telecom Company in its bid to the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority for the acquisition of the license to operate the third mobile telecommunications network in Egypt. 
• Represented the Koç Holding/Sabancı Holding consortium in its bid in the privatization of Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş., the Turkish state-owned fixed-line telephone company. 
• Represented a bidder in the acquisition of assets of Telsim, a Turkish mobile network operator.
• Represented Zorlu Holding in its joint venture arrangements in connection with the privatization of Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TÜPRAŞ Privatization 2006). 
• Represented Zorlu Holding in its joint venture arrangements in connection with the privatization of Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TÜPRAŞ Privatization 2004). 
• Represented the Koç Holding/Türk Telekomunikasyon A.Ş. consortium in its negotiations to purchase shares in the privatization of Bulgarian Telecommünications Company. 
• Represented Korteks Mensucat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. in connection with its proposed equity offering in Europe. 
• Represented Yap Kredi Bankası A.Ş. in connection with the international institutional offering by Lio Yağ Sanayi, a Turkish producer and exporter of olive oil. 
• Represented the underwriters in connection with the international institutional offering by Zorlu Enerji. 
• Represented the Arab Company for Arts & Publishing (Founoon), a media company operating out of Egypt, in connection with a sale of shares to Rotana Audiovisual Company. 
• Represented Founoon in proposed acquisition of assets in Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. 
• Represented Middle Eastern governmental and non-governmental issuers in the issuance of equity and debt securities in Europe and the United States.

Honors

• Who's Who Legal: Turkey (2012) named Ayşe Yüksel as a leading business lawyer in the area of Privatizations.
• Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2012) ranked Ayşe Yüksel as one of only two Turkey “Foreign Experts” in the categories of Corporate/M&A: United States of America, and Banking & Finance: United States of America
• The American Lawyer (2011) named Ayşe Yüksel to its global "45 Under 45" list of the "best of the best among young women lawyers in The Am Law 200.”
• Chambers Global– The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2011) ranked Ayşe Yüksel as the only Turkey "Regional Expert" in the category of Corporate/M&A: United States of America and as one of only three attorneys in the premier band for Corporate & Finance: Lawyers Based Abroad: Turkey.
• Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2009 & 2010) ranked Ayşe Yüksel as the only attorney in the premier band of leading overseas counsel in Turkey.
• The American Turkish Society elected Ayşe Yüksel to its inaugural class of "Young Society Leaders," a group of accomplished professionals with a demonstrated record of leadership ability and commitment to serve the U.S-Turkish society at large.
• Mergermarket ranked Ayse Yuksel number 1 on the list of Top Legal Advisers to Turkish M&A 2009 - 2010 by Value (including local and overseas counsel).

Publications

Speeches and Events