Khaitan & Co and UK firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have advised on the Global Depository Receipt (GDR) issue of Indian coal-bed methane producer Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) after its listing on London's Alternative Investments Market (AIM) earlier in 2005.

Khaitan & Co capital markets partner Vibhava Sawant and BLP London partner Benjamin Lee along with associate director Richard Stewart led the transaction.

The work involved admission to the Official List of the LSE and trading of 116,123,900 GDRs. The GDRs were earlier listed on the AIM of the LSE, from which they were simultaneously delisted with the new issue, explained Khaitan & Co.

Arden Partners acted as financial advisor and joint broker along with RBC Capital Markets as the other joint broker in this issue.

The West Bengal-based company was the first Indian entity to be listed on AIM and raised $19 million through its GDR issue after the listing. The funds were to be utilised for the first phase construction of the company’s coal-bed methane exploration block in Ranigunj.