Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance and Yegin Çiftçi advise consortium of Chinese investors on acquisition of Turkey's Third Bosphorus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway

One of the largest infrastructure M&A transactions in Turkey and a landmark cross-border investment by Chinese investors in Turkey.

Clifford Chance and Yegin Ciftci Attorney Partnership have advised a consortium comprised of China Merchants Expressway Network & Technology Holdings Co. Ltd, China Merchants Union (BVI) Limited, Jiangsu Expressway Company Limited, Zhejiang Expressway Co. Ltd., Anhui Expressway Company Limited and Sichuan Expressway Co in their proposed acquisition of a 51% stake in ICA IC İçtaş Astaldi Üçüncü Boğaz Köprüsü ve Kuzey Marmara Otoyolu Yatırım ve İşletme A.Ş. ("ICA"). The completion of the acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions.

ICA is the concessionaire of the 3rd Bosphorus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway in Turkey, connecting the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, and is strategically located in the north western Turkish region of Marmara for freight and passenger transportation.

The transaction represents the one of the largest infrastructure M&A transactions in Turkey and a landmark cross-border investment by Chinese investors in Turkey.

Core team is comprised of lawyers from Istanbul, Hong Kong and Beijing. Yegin Çiftçi team was the transaction counsel also advising on Turkish law matters. The team was led by Istanbul Corporate/M&A partner Itır Çiftçi and counsel Kemal Aksel, supported by senior associate Umut Özdoğan and associate Aslı Kural. Clifford Chance advised on the international legal aspects of the deal, with M&A partner Fang Liu leading a team in Hong Kong and Beijing, including partners Frank Yuen and Tianning Xiang, senior associates Fang Bao, Yuling Geng, Ryan Wong and Claire Cao, and associate Haoze Zheng.

Itır Çiftçi and Fang Liu commented, "We are proud to advise on the acquisition of this landmark infrastructure project, which demonstrates our global strength in assisting on cross-border deals, including under the Belt and Road Initiative."