Doğan Group refutes tender ban reports

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Doğan Group has said recent reports claiming the entire group has been suspended from state tenders are completely wrong, in a written statement on May 28. 

It was claimed the Doğan Group and its former fuel retailing unit, Petrol Ofisi, would not be able to bid in state tenders for the next 237 days, according to an order from the Energy Ministry published in the government’s Official Gazette.

“Petrol Ofisi, a majority stake of which had been owned by one of our holding companies until 2010, was handed a one-year ban in 2009 over quality issues in a supply deal. As our holding company had the majority stakes of the company in 2009, the decision also covered it. The legal process has still been continuing regarding the matter,” said Doğan Group Vice President Responsible for Corporate Relations Ahter Kutadgu. 

“In the meantime and after the Council of State had rejected the revision demands of the parties and sent the matter back to the local court, OMV Petrol Ofisi’s demand to ‘insist on the decision on our behalf’ was accepted by the local court; namely, the local court insisted on its initial decision to cancel the tender ban. As it is the case in this leading decision, we want to say that we expect a parallel court decision regarding the tender ban our holding company has now faced just because it was the partner of Petrol Ofisi,” Kutadgu added.

“Besides, the tender ban is in regards to our holding company, Doğan Şirketler Grubu, which does not plan to bid in any public tender due to its activity field, so the decision does not affect or cover any of our group companies. In this regard, the reports claiming that the ban was for the whole Group are completely vicious and wrong,” Kutadgu noted.