Law firms
Law firms
SN Gupta & Co is launching its Mumbai litigation practice with the hire of former MLS Vani & Associates senior associate Hiren Mehta as a partner, who will look to building a practice of 10 lawyers in the firm's new High Court office.
Litigation
A divison bench of the Delhi High Court has widened across India its April 2009 judgment that service tax on commercial rentals is ultra vires the Finance Act, in a victory for law firm LexCounsel.
Projects
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.
Corporate M&A Khaitan & Co and Naik Naik & Co have advised multiplex owner INOX Leisure in acquiring a 43.28 per cent stake of the promoter group of rival multiplex chain Fame India for Rs 66.34 crore.
Private equity / VC
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.
Capital Markets Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai is acting for Oberoi Realty while AZB & Partners Mumbai and Shearman & Sterling Singapore are acting for the underwriters in the Rs 1,500 crore ($325m) initial public offering (IPO) of the Mumbai real estate company, according to the draft prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 18 January 2010.
The book-running lead managers are Kotak Mahindra, Enam Securities, JP Morgan India and Morgan Stanley India.
Amarchand, Luthra & Luthra and Khaitan & Co were leading in Legally India's Q3 2009-10 IPO rankings.
Corporate M&A
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.
Law firms
Vaish Associates has opened up a Bangalore office, hiring an ex-Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and lawyer to help it grow to 24 lawyers within a year in the city.
Law firms
Environmental law specialist and Trust Legal founding partner Sudhir Mishra has joined FoxMandal Little (FML) Delhi as a consultant to expand the firm's environmental law practice.
Law firms
Jyoti Sagar Associates (JSA) partner Nishit Dhruva and two of his team have left after 18 months with the firm, restarting his former litigation and conveyancing practice with plans to turn full-service.
Private equity / VC
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.
Capital Markets
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.
Private equity / VC
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.
Capital Markets
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.
Law firms
Ex-FoxMandal Little start-up boutique IP Gurus is moving to a larger office and has hired the former in-house senior counsel of luxury goods group Richemont and an associate in Geneva.