General Counsel
Soyak Energi
Turkiye
Seasoned attorney, in house counsel and corporate executive with an in-depth expertise and proven track record in a wide spectrum of legal fields including Energy & Natural Resources, PPP Contracts and Construction, Information Technologies, Data Privacy & Protection, M&A, Corporate & Commercial, Capital Markets, Banking & Finance, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution and Compliance & Regulatory.
Having obtained his bachelor and post graduate degrees respectively from Galatasaray University (Istanbul) and ULB (Brussels), Berkay worked in top tier International and Turkish law firms leading their M&A, Corporate and Capital Markets teams, as well as Energy & Natural Resources and Tax Practice Groups thereof. He further has extensive experience in international arbitration and dispute resolution including commercial and investment disputes. He previously held the position of General Counsel at Karpowership and Fayrix. During his career, Berkay and his teams closed several cross-border M&A, energy, PPP, and infrastructure projects involving various jurisdictions from the US to Japan (W-E) and Russia to South Africa (N-S). He is also a member of the niche club of legal practitioners specialised in LNG and FSRU operations.
One of the landmark transactions that Berkay led and closed was the unsecured notes issuance by Petkim Petrokimya Holding A.S. with a value of USD 500 Million on the Irish Stock exchange. The work consisted, amongst others, of a heavy legal and business due diligence of Petkim and its operations, the Turkish petrochemicals market, as well as the drafting of the international offering circular. He also advised UBS Limited, Bank of America Merrill Lynch International and Citigroup Global Markets for the block sale of 6.8% shares in Turkcell by Sonera Holding B.V. valued at TRY 1.775 Billion (approx. USD 493 Million); and BNP Paribas, HSBC Bank plc, ING Bank N.V., Unicredit Bank AG and J.P. Morgan Securities plc for senior unsecured notes issuance by Rönesans Construction with a value of USD 300 Million on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Berkay, as a legal counsel and business expert, continues assisting and representing key market players and international conglomerates in structuring their IT, energy and infrastructure projects around the globe.
Besides, he also advises boards of local and global companies in structuring and implementing of their corporate governance and compliance programs as part of their pre & post JV, M&A and IPO transactions and restructuring programs.
Berkay speaks English, French and Turkish.