Pharmaceutical manufacturer Turk Ilac (TRILC), has defaulted on a domestic bill (TRFTRLC72614), the company stated on July 16.

Last month, the Ankara 3rd (asliye ticaret) commercial court granted Turk Ilac a three-month temporary protection period, known as a concordato in Turkey.

The default marks a sharp reversal of fortunes for the company, which expanded rapidly during the pandemic years. Following the court order, Borsa Istanbul immediately halted trading of Turk Ilac shares before relegating the company from the main market to the watchlist zone.

Seeking to dilute its leverage, the enterprise received regulatory approval from the capital markets board, or SPK, to drastically expand its registered capital ceiling by 376%, moving it from Turkish lira (TRY) 1.57bn to TRY 7.5bn (from $33.3mn to $159.0mn).

Compounding its financial distress, the company also temporarily shuttered serum production at its core Akyurt facility for a multi-week maintenance period, further stifling immediate operational revenue.

Turk Ilac has two other outstanding papers (TRFTRLC92612 - TRFTRLC82613).

Broader trend

The fallout at Turk Ilac reflects a broader trend of corporate credit distress trickling through Borsa Istanbul. Persistent macroeconomic headwinds characterised by aggressive monetary tightening and constrained commercial credit lines have pushed multiple listed companies to seek emergency court protection.

In 2025, the number of concordato rulings in Turkey broke reached a record 2,817.

Mega Polietilen (MEGAP), a manufacturer of plastic foams and textiles, filed for concordato in August 2024. It successfully exited the process in June 2025.

Yesil Real Estate Investment Trust (YGYO) filed for corporate debt restructuring under a temporary concordato shield in June 2025. In March, Bakirkoy 1st Commercial Court formally rejected the restructuring extension and issued a strict corporate bankruptcy ruling.

In April, an appeals review by the Istanbul Regional Commercial Court overturned the lower court's decision. The higher court ruled that the mandatory legal thresholds for outright bankruptcy had not yet materialised, lifting the liquidation order and placing the developer back in operational limbo.

On July 3, Kontrolmatik (KONTR) defaulted on a paper (TRFKNTR72613).

In June, the Kontrolmatik shares were relegated to the watchlist market. Also that month, the company said that it was holding financial restructuring negotiations with its creditor banks. Two debt papers (TRSKNTR32719 - TRFKNTR92611) were, meanwhile, transferred to the watchlist following defaults.

In May, the company and its subsidiary Pomega applied to Halkbank (HALKB) and Vakifbank (VAKBN) to launch a debt restructuring process under the Financial Restructuring Framework Agreement (FYY) within the scope of Provisional Article 32 of Banking Law No. 5411 after defaulting on two papers (TRSKNTR52618 - TRFKNTR52615).

On July 9, Vestel Elektronik (VESTL),  a unit of Turkish conglomerate Zorlu Holding, hired restructuring specialists Houlihan Lokey (New York/HLI) to lead talks with holders of its $500mn eurobond (XS2817919587 - US92548MAA53).

Since February, meanwhile, Borlease Otomotiv (BORLS) has been defaulting on coupon payments of its domestic lira bills.