Competition & Antitrust Law

The principal legislation is the Law on the Protection of Competition No. 4054, administered by the Turkish Competition Authority (Rekabet Kurumu) and the Competition Board (Rekabet Kurulu). Article 4 addresses restrictive agreements and concerted practices; Article 6 concerns abuse of dominance; and Article 7 governs mergers and acquisitions that may significantly impede effective competition.

Merger notifications are regulated by Communiqué No. 2010/4, as amended by Communiqué No. 2026/2, published on 11 February 2026. The amended framework provides turnover-based notification thresholds, including relevant Turkish turnover thresholds of TRY 1 billion and TRY 3 billion and a worldwide turnover threshold of TRY 9 billion, applied through alternative jurisdictional tests. Specific rules also apply to technology undertakings.

Merger control. We assess whether proposed acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures require notification to the Competition Authority. The review includes identifying the relevant undertakings, calculating applicable turnover, examining control structures and considering the possible competitive effects of the transaction.

Where notification is required, the process involves preparing transaction descriptions, ownership information, financial data and market-related information for submission to the Authority. Transactions requiring clearance must not be implemented before the necessary approval is obtained.

Commercial agreements. Distribution, supply, exclusivity, non-compete and cooperation arrangements may raise competition law questions. We examine contractual provisions and commercial practices with reference to restrictive agreement rules and applicable exemption frameworks.

Investigations and information requests. Competition investigations may involve information requests, on-site inspections, written submissions and administrative proceedings. We advise on procedural obligations, internal document collection, preparation of responses and the assessment of available procedural options.

Compliance and internal procedures. Competition compliance involves more than reviewing written agreements. Businesses must also consider communications with competitors, trade association participation, commercially sensitive information and internal decision-making practices. We address these matters through contractual reviews, compliance policies and training.

Digital markets and cross-border transactions. Competition issues may also arise in technology markets, platform relationships and transactions involving several jurisdictions. These matters require consideration of Turkish rules alongside relevant foreign competition requirements.

We work with domestic and multinational companies, investors, transaction teams, distributors, manufacturers, technology businesses and in-house legal and compliance departments.

On 11 February 2026, Communiqué No. 2026/2 amended the Turkish merger control framework, including the turnover thresholds, transaction-party definitions and notification procedures. Transaction-specific analysis remains necessary to determine whether a filing is required.