Turkey's biggest media group, said the top administrative court has overturned tax court rulings against its Dogan TV unit worth 713.3 million lira ($451.5 million), giving a boost to the company in its battle against a series of huge tax fines, Reuters reported.
The court's decision on a further a 917.6 million lira fine is pending, the company said in a statement issued to the Istanbul Stock Exchange on Monday.
Dogan Yayin shares rose 3.9 percent to 2.14 lira by 0750 GMT in Istanbul, after rising 4 percent on Friday.
"This decision will have a positive impact on the stock today. It sets a benchmark for the company's other court cases. The process may linger for a while, the tax court may appeal again, but for now this is positive," said Kenan Turan, an analyst at Tera Brokers.
Turkish tax authorities have imposed some 4 billion lira in back taxes and fines on the company. In legal challenges brought by Dogan, courts have ruled against it to the tune of 2.52 billion lira.
Some commentators have suggested the fines were a punishment for Dogan Yayin's critical coverage of the government. The government has denied that the fines were politically motivated.
Dogan Yayin is selling assets, but has said it will not withdraw from media businesses entirely.
U.S. private equity fund KKR, Time Warner and private equity fund Texas Pacific Group are among shortlisted bidders for Dogan Yayin's assets and will have a month to put forward their final binding offers, sources told Reuters last week.
KKR and Turkish foodmaker Yildiz Holding's unit Gozde Finansal Hizmetler last week formed a consortium to bid for Dogan Yayin assets.
Dogan Yayin is also preparing to sell its flagship Hurriyet daily newspaper separately, another source close to the process told Reuters last month.
In October, parent Dogan Holding sold its controlling stake in fuel retailer Petrol Ofisi to Austrian group OMV, its joint venture partner, for 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion).