London lawsuit: Getir co-founders Nazim Salur and Serkan Borançılı sue Abu Dhabi's Mubadala for $700M, alleging a “significant loss” in breaking up Getir assets
Entrepreneurs behind food delivery start-up sue Gulf sovereign wealth fund in London
Context & Ripple Effects
Getir’s dispute follows a financing collapse in which its valuation was reported to have fallen sharply from its 2022 level, while investors pressed the company to cut costs and concentrate on Turkey. Mubadala then took control of the grocery operations through a 2024 restructuring and $250M capital injection.
The founders’ claim arrives just after Mubadala agreed to sell Getir’s delivery operations to Uber, a transaction that puts the company’s asset breakup at the center of the litigation.
First-order effects
- Nazim Salur and Serkan Borançılı’s $700M London claim puts Mubadala’s handling of Getir’s breakup under formal legal challenge and requires the investor to defend the transaction.
- The suit adds a material overhang to the disposition of Getir assets, including the recently announced sale of delivery operations to Uber.
Second-order effects
- A public dispute between Getir’s founders and controlling investor could complicate negotiations over the remaining portfolio by making ownership, process, and proceeds more contested.
- For founders and investors in distressed startups, the case reinforces the importance of clearly allocating control and exit rights when rescue financing shifts power to a new backer.
Third-order effects
- If disputes of this kind become more common, down-round restructurings may carry a larger litigation risk after an investor-led asset sale, not merely dilution risk at the financing stage.
- The episode points to a tougher governance environment for venture-backed companies whose growth-era valuations give way to investor-directed restructurings and breakups.
The trend: Getir is one example of the post-growth startup reset, in which rescue capital can preserve operations while transferring control and setting up conflicts over the eventual exit.