S&R Associates has landed the $9.6bn corporate takeover of long-groomed client Cairns India by UK mining giant Vedanta Resources, which was advised by AZB & Partners as Scottish firm Shepherd and Wedderburn and US firm Latham & Watkins stepped up internationally.
S&R fielded a small team that included only Delhi partner Uday Walia and associate Mohit Gogia, said Walia, adding that the relationship with Cairns Plc came about after Cairn's initial public offering (IPO) in December 2006.
"We were advisers to the underwriters to the IPO," said Walia. "We struck up a relationship with Cairns which is why they instructed us for general other pieces of advice that we've given them over the years."
Scottish firm Shepherd and Wedderburn is a very long-standing adviser to Cairns, with partners Paul Hally and Stephen Trombala having advised the company on the sale of a stake between 51 and 61 per cent to Vedanta.
AZB & Partners advised Vedanta on Indian law aspects while Latham & Watkins led on international law for the buyer.
AZB's team was represented by founding partner Zia Mody and partners Shuva Mandal and Essaji Vahanvati while Latham & Watkins led with London partners Graeme Ward and Rory Negus and Hong Kong-based partner David Miles and Singapore partner Rajiv Gupta.
Vedanta will have to make an open offer for an addition 20 per cent stake in Cairn India by October 11, ultimately resulting in a 51 to 60 per cent holding by the Vedanta Group and partly through Sesa Goa. Cairn India is the subsidiary of Cairn Plc.
S&R Associates is currently in the final stages of setting up its Mumbai office in a bid to expand further on its corporate practice.
S&R cross-sells from cap markets to $9.6bn Cairns-Vedanta M&A
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Congratluations !
It's really hilarious when all these AMSS people claim to be the best.
Whether you like it or not, AMSS is (by a country mile) the best law firm in India.
1. Pappu Pager & Co. is the best law firm in India and it has just advised Bellary Mining Co on its acquisition of Rio Tinto.
2. Gangu Teli has been given truckloads of money by a particular group of people with vested interests to block the entry of law foreign firms in India.
3. Chinchpokhli National Law University is the best law school in India and has just won the Raj Thakeray National Moot on Fundamental Rights.
Grow up, LI.
An(Ex)Admirer
As for brand value, just keep dreaming. AZB is better known and has a tie up with Clifford Chance. The name AZB also sounds a 100 times more cool and hep than Amarchand Mangaldas!
While Zia and Bahram are no-doubt sterling lawyers, Cyril, Viswanathan, Ciccu and Shardul are also highly regarded.
AZB has lately been involved with high profile multi-billion outbound transactions from India, while Amarchand distinctly stays away from outbound practice as a matter of policy (hearsay from an AM partner). Thus, it is inaccurate to judge amarchand's corporate practice by comparing it with high value outbound deals.
For a new joiner, the point is not which firm is the best, it is under which partner would the new joiner be working and in the case of Amarchand where many practice areas function, which practice area would the new joiner work. Beleive me, working under the wrong kind of senior, whether in AZB or Amarchand can only lead to grief and your future recruiters will judge you for that.
Kiss my a#@
I think I am going to copy this on my clipboard and paste it for every article. These kind of comments are anyways the trend and seen with respect to every post !!!
@18: Bingo...bang on target!!
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