The acquisition of own shares by publicly held companies

Article 22 of the Capital Market Law No. 6362 authorizes the Capital Markets Board to regulate the procedures and principles regarding the acquisition of own shares by publicly held joint-stock companies. Within the scope of this authority, the Capital Markets Board has enacted the Communiqué on Share Buybacks. The institution of the acquisition of own shares by publicly held joint-stock companies is regulated in detail in the Communiqué and is subject to certain conditions and obligations. The fundamental concepts regarding the acquisition of own shares by publicly held joint-stock companies, the reasons for and drawbacks of such acquisitions, the basic rules governing the acquisition, the conditions and exceptions, as well as the legal consequences of the acquisition constitute the main subject of this study. In this study, while examining the institution of the acquisition of own shares by publicly held joint-stock companies, the related concepts are also addressed, and, for the purpose of comparison, the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 concerning the acquisition of own shares by joint-stock companies are also evaluated to a limited extent.