Çukurova wins legal battle against former energy partner

Dinçer Gökçe ISTANBUL

Çukurova Group head Mehmet Emin Karamehmet. DHA Photo

Çukurova Holding has won a lawsuit against its former energy partner, Kazancı Holding, with which it was supposed to take the ownership rights of four major energy utilities, including the Başkent Gas Grid in the capital city Ankara.

The court found in favor of Çukurova’s claims about its former partner’s inability to financially realize the ownership rights of the utilities.

Çukurova said it paid a total of $110 million for the four warrant letters to extend the transfer process of the Başkent Gas Grid project to the companies. After the companies had failed to realize the project, Çukurova lost this money, the holding said to the court, according to the documents.

The court found Çukurova’s claims justified and commenced execution proceedings against Kazancı Holding. Kazancı will pay $80 million, the amount Çukurova paid for one of the warrant letters. New lawsuits are expected to be filed against Kazancı Holding for the remaining three letters.

MMEKA, a joint venture of the two business groups, was the star of the huge energy privatization tenders in Turkey five years ago. They won a tender for the privatization of the Başkent Gas Grid for $1.2 billion in 2010. They also won the privatization tenders for BEDAŞ, the electricity distribution company for Istanbul’s European side, AYEDAŞ, the distribution company for Istanbul’s Asian side, and for the Aegean region’s Gediz grid, but failed to perform its duties on time.