Hogan Lovells has poached Squire Patton Boggs India group co-chair and capital markets partner Biswajit Chatterjee into its corporate and finance practice in Singapore, according to the firm’s press release.

Chatterjee, a 1997 NLSIU Bangalore graduate who went abroad after working in Chambers in India until 2000, had joined Squires in 2014 from DLA Piper Singapore, where he had also been India co-head (see below).

In the release, he commented: “I am excited to be joining Hogan Lovells market leading Corporate & Finance and India practices, which I have long admired. Balancing a global platform with strong local relationships, Hogan Lovells presents the opportunity to collaborate and combine our keen market knowledge, and long track record of working in India and South East Asia, to continue to pave the way for both Indian and international clients.”

Head of corporate & finance for Asia-Pacific Stephanie Keen added: “The opportunities in the Indian market are vast and aligned with our strength in highly regulated sectors, such as technology and life sciences & healthcare. Biswajit brings with him not only a wealth of industry experience in the transaction space, but deep relationships that are key to successfully doing business in India. We have an excellent market reputation for our work in India, and I look forward to working with Biswajit as we grow our practice.”

According to Hogan Lovells:

New York and India qualified, his focus is on capital markets, M&A and private equity transactions. He has advised on some of the largest equity and debt offerings in India and South East Asia.

Singapore is Hogan Lovells’ regional hub for India, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

Chatterjee will work closely with Head of Corporate & Finance for Asia Pacific, Stephanie Keen, and colleagues across Hogan Lovells integrated global India desk, from Northern California to the East Coast of Australia, to build on the firm’s established reputation for doing business in India.

The Hogan Lovells press release helpfully added a reminder that the firm has been busy in India:

Recent deals led by the team in the region include: advising leading Indian digital commerce entity Flipkart on almost US$2 billion of fundraisings in 2020, advising Facebook on a US$5.7 billion investment for a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms [reported to be the largest minority tech investment in history and the largest foreign direct investment in the Indian tech sector] and supporting Groupe ADP regarding a share purchase agreement to acquire a 49% stake in GMR Airports, a major Indian airport group; the total purchase price for this stake was fixed at around 1.36 billion euros.