Deals

Luthra & Luthra has closed the Rs 2400 crores ($521m) GVK Power (Goindwalsahib) project finance fundraising acting for IDBI Bank and a consortium of 12 others as lender's counsel.

Luthra & Luthra's projects team was led by Mumbai partner Vijaya Rao (pictured), assisted by managing associate Bikash Jhawar, and associates Pulkit Sharma and Sneha Jha.

Khaitan & Co has picked up the Indian mandate to advise private equity group Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) on the $440m purchase of legal process outsourcing company CPA Global, alongside a raft of international firms.

Mumbai firm Gagrats and Link Legal have advised on the joint venture (JV) between Jet Airways and GMR Hyderabad International Airport and Malaysian Aerospace Engineering.

Argus Partners and Nishith Desai Associates have advised on the Rs 200 crore ($43m) sale of Ravin Cables to an Italian cable manufacturer, while ALMT Legal has scored its first mandate for a Reliance fund, which was one of Ravin's shareholders.

Delhi start-up Axon Partners has landed a role next to Crawford Bayley and Linklaters on Jaiprakash Power Venture's surprise $200m (Rs 920 crore) convertible bond issue.

Mumbai boutique firm Sand Hill Counsel and the Bangalore offices of Induslaw Advocates and Nishith Desai & Associates (NDA) have assisted IT customer support services provider iYogi in raising $15m of venture capital (VC) funding to expand its team of global tech experts.

Crawford Bayley has picked up the latest Government disinvestment mandate for India's single largest iron ore producer and exporter National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), following Amarchand Mangaldas, Fox Mandal Little and Luthra & Luthra bagging the three other disinvestments of the past four months.

Phoenix Legal has acted on a Rs 308m ($6.5m) microfinance securitisation of 42,000 micro-loans for IFMR Capital.

Khaitan & Co and Wadhwa Group's in-house counsel have closed Mumbai's largest land deal of the year, in the 18.18-acre land purchase in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai from Hindustan Composites (HCL) for Rs 571 crore ($125m).

Wadia Ghandy Mumbai and Amarchand Mangaldas Delhi have helped GTL Infrastructure in acquiring Aircel's telecom tower business in an all-cash deal valued at Rs 8,400 crore ($1.84bn).

Desai & Diwanji acted on 24 M&A deals in the 2009 calendar year, placing it at the top of data provider mergermarket's M&A league table by volume. Amarchand Mangaldas topped the table by value, having advised on M&A deals worth $6.4bn in 2009, while Khaitan & Co and AZB & Partners also gave a strong showing.

In December 2009 Luthra & Luthra slipped past Khaitan & Co into second place in the initial public offering (IPO) league tables after acting on three IPOs with Khaitan bagging two instructions. Crawford Bayley took three deals and drew level with AZB & Partners as the fourth busiest Indian IPO firm, while Amarchand Mangaldas built up its lead with five mandates.

Bangalore private equity (PE) boutique Lexygen and the Mumbai and Gurgaon offices of Vaish Associates have acted in the Rs 22.5 crore ($4.5m) investment by Zephyr Peacock India Fund in a telecom service company called Metro Wireless Engineering India (Metro Telworks).