Amarchand on Fortis mammoth internal restructuring, and Alfa Laval delisting; Desai & Diwanji and Seth Dua on two related private equity injections; Khaitan & Co gets close to Raiffeisen; JSA helps Naukri owner expand online reach to Zomato and beyond; MDP gets Cox & Kings out of Maharaja Express pickle for now; JSA and MD&T Partners get Indians to make hoses with Spaniards.
Private equity
Desai & Diwanji partners Apurva Diwanji, Vihang Virkar, associate partner Sakshi Mehra and junior associate Bhumi Kothari and Purrington Moody Weil Carolina-based partner Nick Purrington acted for Olympus Capital Asia Investments in its $50m acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in Vishwa Infrastructures and Services from Axis Infrastructure Fund 1(advised by Seth Dua & Associates partner Subodh Sadana) and certain of Vishwa’s promoters. advised by Proskauer Rose advised New Enterprise Associates (NEA) increased its stake in Vishwa. [VCCircle]
Banking finance
Khaitan & Co partner Devidas Banerji advised the Singapore branch of Raiffeisen Bank International in relation to its $12m corporate guarantee issued by Bhadresh Trading Corporation under the Overseas Direct Investment route to secure trade finance facilities extended to Cashcot Industries. Singapore-based Asia Practice LLP partner Peter Chean advised the lender on non-Indian laws.
Strategic corporate M&A
J Sagar Associates (JSA) partner Rohitashwa Prasad and senior associate Abhishek Shinde advised long-standing client Info Edge (India) in two private equity investment transactions of Rs 20 crore investment in New Delhi-based K-12 education content developer Applect Learning Systems that operates the website Meritnation and a Rs 13.5 crore investment in Gurgaon-based DC Foodiebay Online Services, which runs the restaurant directory website Zomato. BSE-listed Info Edge operates online job portal Naukri and real estate site 99Acres.
Dispute resolution
MDP & Partners advised Cox & Kings on its dispute with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which is a subsidiary of Indian Railways, and disputed a joint venture (JV) agreement of December 2008 with Cox & Kings investing Rs 45 crore. IRCTC terminated the JV on 12 August, which was challenged by Cox & Kings because bookings for travel had already been made on the luxury Maharaja Express. The Delhi High Court passed an interim order on 5 September to allow the train to continue running under the JV until final arbitration, which was upheld by the division bench on 10 September. Cox & Kings through MPD instructed senior counsel Ashok Desai and Mukul Rohatgi, while IRCTC drafted in attorney general Gulam Vahanvati. [Case background: Hindu]
M&A
Amarchand Mangaldas managing partner Cyril Shroff is leading on the proposed acquisition by hospital chain Fortis Healthcare (India) of Fortis promoter-owned Fortis Healthcare International from RHC Financial Ltd, which will form a $1bn revenue global healthcare company by 31 December 2011. Rajah & Tann and Allens Arthurs Robinson will act as Singapore and Australian counsel respectively. [WSJ]
Amarchand Mangaldas partners Vandana Shroff and Leena Chacko are advising the Alfa Laval Group in the proposed delisting of its Indian subsidiary Alfa Laval (India) from the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India, in a delisting offer to acquire the shares of the public shareholders of the Alfa Laval (India). The deal is expected to close by November 2012 with JM Financial Consultants acting as financial advisor.
Joint ventures
J Sagar Associates (JSA) partner Upendra Nath Sharma, senior associate Akshay Nagpal and associates Udhav Gulati, Angira Singhvi and Kartik Jain acted for Spanish auto component maker Cikautxo S. Coop in its 50:50 joint venture with Jamshedpur-based Taurus Flexible, which was advised by Bangalore-based MD&T Partners partner PM Thimmaiah. The JV will manufacture rubber hoses in India for domestic and international sales. [DealCurry]
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