Türkiye’s competition board said on Tuesday it had terminated its investigation into the mobility app Martı, launched over allegations that it abused its dominant market position, after the company made a series of commitments regarding the issue.
“It has been decided to terminate the investigation, accepting the commitments and making them binding since they are of a nature to resolve the competition problems,” the Competition Authority (RK) said.
Martı operates a fleet of nearly 50,000 e-mopeds, e-bikes and e-scooters.
Martı last month said it was set to go public through a merger with Galata Acquisition Corp, a blank-check company listed in New York. The deal marks a Turkish company’s first initial public offering (IPO) via SPAC in New York.
SPACs are shell corporations that list on stock exchanges and then merge with an existing company to take that target public without going through the conventional IPO process. Such deals have emerged as a form of public market venture capital for some startups that have struggled to raise funds through traditional routes.
The transaction values the combined company at a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $532 million (TL 9.5 billion).
Martı is inching closer to becoming a new Turkish unicorn – a term for startups with a valuation of over $1 billion – with the deal that should give it net cash proceeds of around $280 million.
It said the transaction was expected to close in the fourth quarter, with the combined company expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MRT.”
