Ashurst

“Cash management company CMS Info Systems has filed preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise about Rs1,000-1,200 crore through its initial share-sale offering. The company’s initial public offer (IPO) is a pure offer for sale.” reported Livemint and Moneycontrol. CMS Info Systems, fully owned by Baring Private Equity Asia, provides cash management services, which include ATM services, and cash delivery and pick-up. Existing shareholders would sell 44.4 million equity shares, resulting in a 30% stake dilution on a post-issue basis.

dated: now“Kia Motors, a minority-owned subsidiary of Korean auto major Hyundai Motor Company, is likely to set up a manufacturing facilty in Andhra Pradesh with an investment worth Rs 10,300 crore. The car manufacturing facility, a first for Andhra Pradesh, will involve two phases with a cumulative investment of $1.6 billion, or Rs 10,300 crore, with first phase of investment amounting to about Rs 6,000 crore,” reported the Hindustan Times.

"In one of the largest deals in the retail real estate market in India, Dutch pension fund asset manager APG Asset Management and Virtuous Retail, the retail development arm of The Xander Group, have partnered to form a joint venture worth $450m, the companies said in a statement,” reported VC Circle.

Indian Law Partners (ILP) co-founding partner Piyoosh Gupta has started his own law firm PSG Legal, aiming to expand rapidly.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) advised renewable energy company BLP Energy on its $33.8m (Rs 220 crore) acquisition by Italy’s Enel Green Power which was advised by Khaitan & Co and Ashurst Singapore and Italy.

JSA partner Sidharrth Shankar and associates Prakriti Jaiswal and CV Srikant acted for BLP

Khaitan Mumbai partner Joy Jacob and Ashurst Singapore partner Keith McGuire acted for Enel.

This year US-based SunEdison and First Solar, Russia’s OAO Rosneft, China’s Trina Solar, Japan’s SoftBank and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology have either invested or evaluated investing in the Indian renewables sector, reported Mint.

Vedanta Resources subsidiaries Vedanta India and Cairn merged, assisted by Khaitan & Co as sole domestic legal adviser, according to its press release, and Ashurst's India practice.

The following Khaitan team advised:

Haigreve Khaitan, Partner; Sharad Abhyankar, Partner; Mehul Shah, Associate Partner; Tarunya Krishnan, Principal Associate and Harsh Kabra, Associate.

The following members assisted the core transaction team:

Corporate Due-Diligence - Soumyadri Chattopadhyaya, Associate; Aayush Mohata, Associate; Parvati Parkkot, Associate and Umang Singh, Associate

Capital Markets – Sudhir Bassi, Executive Director

ESOPs – Daksha Baxi, Executive Director

Energy, Infrastructure and Resources – Dibyanshu, Associate Partner

Ashurst London partners Tom Mercer and Richard Gubbins led the transaction on non-Indian laws, while US securities law partner Stuart Rubin advised from Hong Kong.

Indian Law Partners (ILP) and Ashurst acted for Japanese Toshiba in its investment in Delhi-based clean water solutions provider company UEM India.

Link Legal advised Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) and the Government of India in raising funding from public sector lender Japan Bank of International Corporation (JBIC). JBIC was advised by Indian Law Partners and Ashurst.

AZB & Partners advised the Dabur India promoters, the Burman Family, which picked up around Rs 50 crore ($9m) stake in DMI Finance, which was advised by start-up Amicus Advocates & Solicitors.

The firms would give preference in referring work to each other as “best friends” but would remain non-exclusive in line with Indian restrictions, Pant and Ashurst India head Richard Gubbins told Legally India.

Exclusive: SN Gupta & Co has rebranded its transactional practice to SNG & Partners, shifted into new Delhi corporate offices and has hired former Ashurst India office heads Ashok Mubayi and Preet Malik as senior advisers to build up the firm’s nuclear practice.

Ashurst has decided to shut its Delhi liaison office, which in all honesty will not be a shock to anyone who's read the Lawyers Collective judgment.

To find out what this means for Ashurst's India practice (if anything) read our interview with the firm's India head Richard Gubbins. We have asked him lots of questions but we have not been able to confirm what will happen to Ashurst's shiny India ball.

"As far as Ashurst is concerned, I'm very happy with where we are today," says the firm's India group head Richard Gubbins. For a lawyer who is just about to shut down an office he has helped build and defend for 15 years, he does not sound upset at all. Is he just putting a brave face on things or is the firm secretly glad to be rid of what had turned into an expensive millstone?

Ashurst has decided to close its Delhi liaison office following the outcome of the Lawyers Collective case. However, the office closure was already on the cards two months before the judgment, according to the firm.

Almost everything that could happen, did happen this week in Indian law.

And then hell froze over.

Legally India was the first to report one of the biggest items of foreign law firm news in 15 years: the Bombay High Court finally gave its judgment in the infamous case of Lawyers Collective v Ashurst, Chadbourne & Parke and White & Case.