ARTICLE
17 July 2025

Two-minute Recap Of Competition Law Matters In Türkiye

GT
Gen Temizer

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Gen Temizer is a leading independent Turkish law firm located in Istanbul's financial centre. The Firm has an excellent track record of handling cross-border matters for clients and covers the full bandwidth of most complex transactions and litigation with its cross-departmental, multi-disciplinary and diverse team of over 30 lawyers. The Firm is deeply rooted in the local market with over 80 years of combined experience of the name partners while providing the highest global standards of legal services.
The Turkish Competition Authority has published a new Block Exemption Communiqué on Specialisation Agreements, which entered into force following its publication in the Official Gazette dated 26 June 2025.
Turkey Antitrust/Competition Law

Communiqué on Specialisation Agreements is Amended

The Turkish Competition Authority has published a new Block Exemption Communiqué on Specialisation Agreements, which entered into force following its publication in the Official Gazette dated 26 June 2025. This new communiqué replaces the former Communiqué No. 2013/3 and introduces changes regarding the exemption conditions for specialisation agreements.

The new communiqué narrows the scope of the block exemption regime, most notably by lowering the applicable market share threshold from 25% to 20%. Where the specialised product is also used as an input in a downstream market in which the parties are active, the 20% threshold must be met in both the upstream and downstream markets. In contrast to the previous regime, which relied solely on the most recent year's market data, the new rules allow the use of a three-year average where annual data is not deemed representative of the parties' market position.

Additionally, the communiqué revises and clarifies key definitions and introduces a transitional period for existing agreements. Agreements that benefited from the previous regime but do not meet the new conditions will need to be amended to comply with the updated rules within two years. During this transition period, Article 4 of the Competition Law will not be enforced against such agreements.

Gun-Jumping Penalty for Can Group in Tekfen Share Acquisition

Further to announcement dated 26.06.2025, the Turkish Competition Board ("TCB") decided that the acquisition of Tekfen Holding shares by Can Group required prior approval and imposed an administrative fine of approx. EUR 232,000 for implementing the transaction without clearance (gun-jumping). The TCB also ruled that the transfer of control remains legally ineffective until formal approval is granted, and ordered Can Group and ARY Holding to refrain from any actions that could effect a change in control. The substantive merger review is currently on-going according to the announcement.

Hub & Spoke Cartel Settlements in Electronics Retail Case

The TCB concluded its investigation into Fakir Elektrikli Ev Aletleri, Vatan Bilgisayar, and Teknosa, all of which settled the case and received a 25% reduction in their fines.

Fakir Elektrikli Ev Aletleri was investigated for (i) imposing resale price maintenance (RPM) on its resellers and (ii) engaging in a hub-and-spoke type coordination. The TCB, in its decision dated 28.05.2025, found Fakir to have violated cartel prohibition and imposed an administrative fine of approx. EUR 553,000 following the settlement discount.

Vatan Bilgisayar was also found to have engaged in indirect information exchange and cartel practices through Fakir. The TCB determined 3 a violation of cartel prohibition and fined Vatan approx. EUR 443,400 after applying the settlement discount.

Similarly, Teknosa was found to have participated in hub-and-spoke cartel conduct through indirect information sharing. A fine of approximately EUR 364,500 was imposed on Teknosa after the settlement discount. As for Media Markt Türkiye, no final decision has been published yet, and the investigation remains pending.

Google's Advertising Practices Are Under Investigation

On 20 June 2025, the TCB launched a full investigation into Google (Alphabet Inc. and affiliates) concerning its Performance Max ("PMAX") advertising campaign.

The investigation focuses on whether Google abused its dominant position in search-based advertising by using PMAX to leverage its power into other online advertising services, imposing exploitative conditions on advertisers due to lack of transparency and control, and combining user data collected from various services (such as Chrome and Android) in a way that may distort competition in the market.

TCB Launches Investigation into Coca Cola Distributor

According to the public announcement dated 10.06.2025, TCB has initiated an investigation into Coca-Cola Satış ve Dağıtım AŞ ("CCSD") regarding allegations of imposing exclusivity obligations on retail outlets and excluding competitors.

The investigation will examine whether CCSD's practices restrict competitors' access and impede competition through exclusivity agreements.

Previously, CCSD was investigated in 2021, with the case resolved by a commitments package accepted by the TCB. Further to the announcement, the new findings have led the TCB to initiate a more detailed inquiry.

TCB Concludes Investigation into Ankara Ready-Mix Concrete Producers

According to the announcement dated 12.06.2025, TCB concluded its investigation into certain ready-mix concrete producers in Ankara for exchanging competitively sensitive information on employee wages, in violation of Article 4 of Law No. 4054. TCB imposed a total administrative fine of approximately EUR 88,400 on four companies found to have violated competition law.

No fines were imposed on the other parties involved in the investigation.

Dominance Under the Microscope

Pursuant to the announcement dated 24.06.2025, the TCB has decided to open an investigation into Kariyer.Net. Kariyer.Net is one of Türkiye's leading online recruitment platforms, offering job matching services through its website and related digital tools.

The preliminary inquiry examined allegations that Kariyer.Net, operating within the same economic group as the www.isinolsun.com platform, abused its dominant position through 4 data integration practices, pricing behavior, and heavy advertising expenditures.

TCB Concludes Probe into Private Food Testing Labs

TCB has finalized its investigation into certain private food testing laboratories operating in Türkiye concerning allegations of price fixing and exchange of competitively sensitive information.

Further to the announcement dated 17.6.2025, three undertakings violated cartel prohibition through agreements or concerted practices on food analysis fees and the sharing of sensitive competitive information. Accordingly, TCB imposed a total administrative fine of approximately EUR 51,000 on three companies.

Investigation Launched Against Seven Seed Companies in Türkiye

The TCB has decided to initiate a full-fledged investigation into seven undertakings active in the seed sector, specifically in the market for field crop seeds. The decision follows a preliminary investigation concerning allegations of customer/territorial allocation and the exchange of competitively sensitive information, which may amount to a violation of cartel prohibition. Further to the announcement dated 04.06.2025, the investigated parties include Corteva, KWS Türk, Limagrain, May-Agro, Monsanto, Polen Tohumculuk and Syngenta.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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