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Luthra, Amarchand, SJ Law lead Q3 Indian project finance rankings, mix up globally

transportation engineering
transportation engineering
Luthra & Luthra has built on its lead in the Dealogic Indian project finance league table of the first three quarters of 2010, as Amarchand Mangaldas completed four project financings in the last quarter and caught up into second place ahead of newcomers such as Axon Partners LLP and R&A Legal Advocates. Globally the top two firms are also in the top 10 of project finance legal advisers by value.

Q3 2010 project deals snapshot

Luthra’s top deals:
  • Videocon Telecommunications: $3.1bn telecoms project
  • Krishnapatnam Ultra Mega Power Project for $2.8bn
  • Prayagraj Thermal Power Plant: $2.4bn renewable fuel project
  • GMR Rajahmundry Thermal Power Plant for $702m
  • National Highway No 5 PPP Project for Simhapuri Expressway worth $549m

Axon Partners LLP and Amarchand jointly advised on JSL borrowing $1.6bn for the Orissa Phase-II Project Expansion.

Amarchand also advised on:

  • Utkal Alumina Refinery Project for $1.5bn, and
  • Dhenkanal Power Plant Project for $1.5bn
  • Surana Power Coal Based Thermal Power Plant for $526m

Source: Dealogic

Luthra & Luthra topped the table advising on almost $5bn worth of project financing in the last quarter alone, consolidating its position at the the top of the table in the first half of 2010. Its total deals tally for the year now stands at 10 deals, commanding a market share of more than 50 per cent.

Amarchand Mangaldas, which was in fourth position in the first half of 2010, has advised on a further two projects of $1.2bn, giving it a market share of 27 per cent according to Dealogic.

SJ Law Advocates & Solicitors also added another two deals in the last quarter to keep it steady in third place.

A new entrant to the rankings is a little over one-year old Delhi firm Axon Partners LLP, which bagged a role with Amarchand on the $1.6bn Orissa Phase II Project Expansion with JSL as the borrower.

Global projects

In global project finance rankings of the first nine months of 2010 Luthra & Luthra advised on a total of $15.6bn over 17 deals, putting the firm less than $2bn behind Linklaters, which is in first place with 25 deals. Allen & Overy is just behind Luthra with project deal values of $15.5bn over 32 deals, with Clifford Chance and White & Case also featuring in the top six.

Amarchand was ranked seventh by global deal values with 13 deals worth $8.3bn, followed by Latham & Watkins, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.

SJ Law Advocates & Solicitors also featured in the global rankings in 10th place with 11 deals totalling $5.1bn.

PFI/PPP project finance

As global private finance initiative (PFI) and public private partnerships (PPP) continued their depression, Luthra & Luthra also topped that table globally with two deals worth £3.3bn and India Law Services won third place with three PFI/PPP deals worth $3.4bn.

Q1-Q3 2010 Indian project finance legal advisers

Pos Q1-Q3 2010

Pos H1 2010

Legal Adviser

Amount ($m)

No of deals

% share

1 1 Luthra & Luthra 10,268 10 57.9
2 4 Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co 4,748 8 26.8
3 3 SJ Law Advocates & Solicitors (India) 998 6 5.6
4 - Axon Partners LLP 781 1 4.4
5 7 Khaitan Jayakar Sud & Vohra 495 1 2.8
6 5 AZB & Partners 185 2 1.0
7 2 India Law Services 104 1 0.6
7 - R & A Legal Advocates 104 1 0.6
9 - Juris Corp 46 1 0.3

Source Dealogic

Dealogic compiled only infrastructure project financings that signed within the previous half-year and specifically excluded real estate projects (except PFI and PPP deals), shipping or aircraft financing, equipment financing, agriculture and manufacturing. Legal advisers are counted if they advised a borrower, concession awarder, commercial lender, multilateral lender, ECA, guarantor or divestor). If two or more firms advised on the same project, the attributed project value was evenly divided between the advisors.

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