Private equity boutique firm Lexygen has opened a new office in Singapore, on its third anniversary of founding.
Two lawyers from Lexygen's Bangalore headquarters have temporarily relocated to Singapore and are hoping to recruit a local lawyer to head the office within the next six months.
Lexygen founding partner Vijay Sambamurthi said: "We aim for our Singapore office and the team that will be built, to act as the Asia hub for our firm."
"From our perspective we are looking at Singapore as a very long term investment," he added. "We are not looking to reap short term gains, we are not looking to get what deals we can, but we are looking to, in the long term, facilitate a lot more deal flow between India, Singapore and South East Asia."
Lexygen was founded three years ago in Bangalore by Sambamurthi with three lawyers. While he remains the sole equity partner, there are now two salaried partners and nine associates based in Bangalore.
The firm focuses on high-end private equity work and says that its client list includes Baring Private Equity Asia, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, Sycamore Ventures, Shriram Group, Morgan Stanley Principal Investments, Lighthouse Funds, Zephyr Management and Walden International.
Sambamurthi told Legally India: "Our model is based on increased emphasis on client relationships – we are not necessarily chasing too many relationships but we want very deep relationships."
Other Indian firms currently operating in Singapore include Kochhar & Co and Nishith Desai Associates, where Sambamurthi used to head the private equity team before he left to set up Lexygen.
Allen & Overy took over local Singapore firm Venture Law yesterday, adding to its office, which was awarded a Singapore practising licence last December.