Kochhar & Co and AZB & Partners have advised venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Headland Capital respectively on their Rs 70 crore equity investment in mobile value added services (VAS) provider ValueFirst Messaging.

Delhi firm LexCounsel has advised longstanding clients venture capital (VC) fund LeapStart Trust on its third portfolio investment with a a 26 per cent stake in English e-learning group Liqvid eLearning after a prior focus on technology and hospitality sectors.

Juris Corp and Tatva Legal have advised on private equity fund BanayanTree Growth Capital’s minority stake investment in oil, gas and power services company Dee Development Engineers.

Exclusive: Test prep company Career Launcher takes on Rs 50 crore private equity cash for school chain.

AZB & Partners was the busiest private equity legal advisor of 2010 ahead of ALMT Legal and Indus Law tied in second place followed by DSK Legal and Tatva Legal. Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal came in fourth and fifth places respectively, according to a volume-based league table by data provider Venture Intelligence.

Exclusive: PXV Law Partners and Indus Law Advocates have advised on Rs 15 crore venture capital investment in a start up Glocal Hospital by private equity firms Sequoia Capital and Elevar Equity to develop health care facilities in rural West Bengal.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) acted for private equity firm BTS Investment Advisors on its Rs 36 crore ($7.9m) investment in car rental company Carzonrent which was advised by Amarchand Mangaldas.

Majmudar & Co, Dua Associates and J Sagar Associates (JSA) have advised on the $12m venture capital investment by Reliance Venture Asset Management and GE Oil and Gas in renewable energy firm AllGreen Energy for its first biomass project in Tamil Nadu.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) and Wadia Ghandy have advised on the $5m funding of online auto auction portal MotorExchange Solutions (MXC) by venture capitalist firms Epiphany Overseas and Canaan Partners.

Exclusive: AZB & Partners and J Sagar Associates (JSA) have advised India’s sixth largest IT firm Patni Computer Systems that was bought by Apax Partners-backed iGate for $1.22bn, which drafted in Khaitan & Co and Kirkland & Ellis as legal advisers.

Lexygen and Linklaters advised a Carlyle Group-led consortium of the losing bidders, where Amarchand Mangaldas is understood to have provided the advice to the bid’s merchant banks.

Amarchand Mangaldas has advised J P Morgan India’s real estate investment fund on its partial Rs 115.23 crore ($25.4m) exit in B Raheja Builders to builder group K Raheja, which hired Wadia Ghandy as legal counsel.

AZB & Partners and Economic Laws Practice (ELP) have advised in the private equity investment led by Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) and Cisco in the IT hosting service provider Netmagic Solutions resulting in a 12 per cent equity buy worth Rs 46.5 crore ($10.6m).

Khaitan & Co, Wadia Ghandy, Simmons & Simmons and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have advised on Barclays Bank’s reinvestment in the outsourcing unit Intelenet involving an all-cash acquisition of a 12.75 per cent stake in its holding company SKR BPO Services Private Limited.

AZB & Partners, Indus Law, ALMT Legal and Trilegal have topped data provider Venture Intelligence’s private equity league tables for the first nine months of this year.

AZB & Partners has acted for private equity (PE) firm Matrix Partners India in its Rs 50 crore investment in New Delhi based eye-care hospital chain Centre for Sight (CFS) which was advised by SRGR Law Offices.

Amarchand Mangaldas Bangalore and Indus Law Advocates advised on private equity funds Sandstone Capital and Sequoia Capital’s Rs 200 crore minority stake investment in India’s largest domestic handset maker Micromax.

Private equity giant Blackstone has widened its circle of standing Indian advisers to include Desai & Diwanji on its latest investments in the power sector, having used Khaitan & Co on its previous two major deals. Luthra & Luthra advised its long-standing clients Moser Baer Projects in the $300m stake buy, and Clarus Law led for Monnet Power Company on Blackstone’s $70m investment.

LexCounsel has advised longstanding clients Educomp Solutions on its 67 per cent acquisition of engineering coaching institute Vidya Mandir for Rs 34 crore and venture capital (VC) fund Leapstart Trust on its second portfolio investment into hospitality service provider Bliss Inns.

Private equity (PE) boutique firm Lexygen advised TA Associates in acquiring a nearly 16 per cent stake in Luthra & Luthra’s clients Dr Lal PathLabs for Rs 163 crore by picking up half of Sequoia Capital’s stake in the diagnostics and pathology services company.

Two offices of AZB & Partners acted on opposite sides of a Chinese Wall for private equity investor Matrix India and gold loan company Muthoot Finance in a 4 per cent investment totalling Rs 157 crore with Luthra & Luthra advising second investor Baring Private Equity Partners India.