Juris Corp will open an office in Chennai next week after former Wadia Ghandy associate Hufriz Wadia, who is the sister of long-time Mumbai partner Hoshedar Wadia, joined the firm as partner two weeks ago.

Luthra & Luthra advised India’s largest pre-schools’ operator Tree House Education and Accessories in preferentially allotting its equity shares for Rs 81.25 crore ($15m) to Aditya Birla Private Equity – Sunrise Fund (ABPESF) and Omidyar Network (ON) Mauritius and warrants to promoters, which were advised in-house.

Desai & Diwanji has promoted five associate partners to salaried partner level in the National Capital Region (NCR) following the recent loss of its office head and up to eight associates in Delhi.

Amarchand Mangaldas topped the 2012 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) India rankings released by data provider mergermarket, in terms of advising on the biggest value M&As in 2012. In terms of the total number of M&A deals advised on, Amarchand was runners up to third-time leader Desai & Diwanji.

Phoenix Legal advised old-client real estate company Ramprastha group in Cyprus-incorporated investor Clearwater Capital Partners’ (CCP) Rs 100 crore ($18m) investment into it. CCP was advised by J Sagar Associates (JSA).

Khaitan & Co and Clifford Chance advised Chinese textile machinery manufacturing company Jiangsu Jinsheng in its CHF 500m or Rs 2,940 crore ($537m) buy of the textile components business of Swiss engineering company Oerlikon which was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Exclusive: Amarchand Mangaldas has held fort as project finance leader for the second consecutive year since replacing Luthra & Luthra in 2011 at the top of the top 10, according to data provided by Dealogic. 10 front-runners this year produced less than half of the total projects revenue docketed in 2011.

Vineetha MG, who left AZB & Partners late last year to start up her own Mumbai firm, which now numbers seven lawyers, has completed her first financing deal.

Amarchand Mangaldas acts on a hoard of financings, while Luthra & Luthra sticks to the markets. Also in this deal round-up: JSA, Crawford, Tatva, AZB, Kochhar, Desai & Diwanji, Trilegal, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Jones Day, Allen & Overy, Milbank, and other foreign firms..

Desai & Diwanji Delhi partner Amit Khansaheb, who had been with the firm for 18 years, has joined BMR Legal – the legal services arm of consultancy firm BMR Advisors – as a partner in order to ramp up the firm’s M&A and private equity legal practice.

Former Kochhar & Co partner of just over five months, Bidan Chandran, has joined PDS & Associates as partner to develop the banking and finance practice of the corporate commercial and dispute resolution firm.

Two years after Thomson Reuters bought legal process outsourcing (LPO) company Pangea3, a managing director who’s been with the company for seven years, Antony Alex, has joined legal industry services provider Rainmaker.

Amarchand, AZB, Khaitan, Crawford Bayley and S&R Associates wrap up the last five deals of 2012..

Link Legal fully merged with project finance boutique India Law Services (ILS) in December to form Link Legal – India Law Services with 14 partners and 73 lawyers, to strengthen its Mumbai practice.

DSK Legal advised India Value Fund Advisors’ (IVFA) trustee IVF Trustee Company in its Rs 1000 crore ($181m) investment in Bangalore-based Manipal Health Enterprises which was advised by Tatva Legal.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) advised online classifieds business Info Edge in its private equity investment, and German glass maker Gerresheimer Glas GmbH in its acquisition, for the second-time this year. Info Edge invested Rs 5 crore ($9,06,455) for a 25 per cent stake in portal Happily Unmarried, whi...

Shearman & Sterling has promoted Hong Kong-based M&A counsel and India co-head Sidharth Bhasin to its partnership.

AZB & Partners advised veteran client diversified technology and manufacturing major Honeywell Asia Pacific in its Rs 130 crore ($25m) sale of 6.24 per cent stake in its subsidiary Honeywell Automation India in an offer for sale through the stock exchange (OFS). Amarchand Mangaldas and Herbert ...

DSK Legal, with German law firm Luther LLP, advised Switzerland-based road construction equipment maker Ammann group in its Rs 280 crore ($51m) buy of 70 per cent equity in Gujarat’s Apollo group’s road-equipment business. Apollo was advised by Desai & Diwanji. DSK Legal Mumbai partners Raksha ...

Clifford Chance India group partner and Amarchand Mangaldas alumnus Sumesh Sawhney has resigned to join Jones Day in London.