About

Coca-Cola İçecek is The Coca-Cola Company’s Turkish bottling partner that bottles and distributes its beverages in Turkey, Pakistan, Central Asia and the Middle East. Rustu Ertuğrul Onur, general counsel and company secretary, has led the legal team at the company since 2007. As Coca-Cola İçecek is a key element for the holding company’s expansion into the Middle East and Central Asia, Onur and his team have been heavily involved in growing the franchise in those regions through large scale investment in terms of capital expenditure and M&A transactions. For instance, after purchasing Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan for $77m in 2008, Coca-Cola İçecek increased the number of factories to six in Pakistan with an investment of $500m; a further investment of $70m has been agreed in 2016 for a bottling plant in Multan. The team also assisted the company in opening a new plant in Astana, Kazakhstan this year, having invested $250m in the past 10 years there. Through these projects, during which the legal team’s advice was crucial, the company has enjoyed a healthy financial standing with net sales revenue growing by 8% in the first quarter of 2016 as the latest example.