Indian Law Firm Awards - India Business Law Journal

Indian Law Firm Awards
electricity sector, their forte being domain knowledge.”
Saxena applauds Amit Kapur and Anupam Varma for
“their outstanding contribution and excellent advisory role
as well as their handling and arguing of matters for us.
Both of them have superb domain knowledge and depth of
understanding.”
Private equity and venture capital
The past year has been relatively buoyant from a private
equity perspective. India witnessed a healthy dose of
new funding in infrastructure, retail, water and wastewater,
power, real estate and the automotive sector, among
others.
One of the most talked about deals was Hero’s acquisition
of Honda’s shares in Hero Honda, funded by BC India
Private Investors II, an affiliate of Bain Capital, and Lathe
Investment, a subsidiary of Government of Singapore
Investment Corporation (GIC). Anil Kasturi, a partner at
AZB & Partners, advised Bain, while partners Vishwang
Desai and Vihang Virkar and associate partner Shyam
Pandya at Desai & Diwanji advised GIC.
“Apart from AZB, we also work closely with Amarchand
Mangaldas, who we regard highly,” says Chandra at Bain
Capital India. “We have also had some exposure to Desai
Diwanji and J Sagar Associates. We think highly of all these
firms and would be surprised if they would not be in any list
of leading Indian law firms.”
Samir Gandhi, a partner at Sidley Austin, is another
fan of J Sagar Associates. “Varghese Thomas from J
Sagar Associates worked on the investment by Equity
International into SAMHI and was outstanding,” he says.
International clients have been equally impressed with
the quality of Khaitan & Co and AZB & Partners, says
Kaushik at Kirkland & Ellis.
DSK Legal is also showered with praise. “Raksha Kothari
and Nirav Shah at DSK Legal stand out as two outstanding
lawyers who are both very humble and knowledgeable,”
says Kabir at Strides Arcolab. The firm opened an office in
Bangalore last year and moved to new premises in Mumbai
and New Delhi to accommodate its expanding practices.
Joining Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, DSK
Legal, J Sagar Associates and Khaitan & Co in the category
of private equity and venture capital is Nishith Desai
Associates.
Nishith Desai Associates hired 15 lawyers last year
and currently has a headcount of 71 professionals. The
firm’s beefy private equity practice draws clients such as
Pacific Alliance Group, ICICI Venture, Providence Equity
Advisors, Aditya Birla Private Equity Fund, Nirvana Venture
Advisors, SEAF Agribusiness Fund, IndiaReit Domestic
Fund, Blackstone, Kaizen Private Equity, Sequoia Capital
India, Everest Capital and Silicon Valley Bank India. “They
were very good, very professional and have the resources
to support large transactions,” says the managing director
at an alternative investment firm.
Privatization and disinvestment
Disinvestments by large state-owned companies
require extensive legal and financial expertise. The Indian
government’s disinvestment programme raised `221.44
billion in fiscal 2011, including US$3.4 billion raised from
the Coal India IPO. Other successful disinvestments
include offerings by Power Finance Corporation, MOIL
February 2012
Intelligence report
Bose & Mitra has strong and
particular expertise in
maritime matters
Charles Cummings
Partner
Baker & McKenzie
and Power Grid Corporation.
The government’s divestment target for 2012 is an ambitious
`400 billion. Large public follow-on offerings are
expected from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and other
public-sector enterprises.
AZB & Partners and Amarchand Mangaldas both worked
on Power Finance Corporation’s US$1 billion FPO – one of
the largest FPOs in India last year. It consisted of a fresh
issue of equity shares and additional shares, and was
marketed in the US and elsewhere under Rule 144A and
Regulation S.
The six firms awarded in this category are Amarchand
Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, Crawford Bayley & Co, J
Sagar Associates, Luthra & Luthra and Trilegal.
In the past, Crawford Bayley has advised the Indian government
on its disinvestment in Videsh Sanchar Nigam and
its sale of a stake in Steel Authority of India.
Praveen Verma, manager of the legal department
at Power Finance Corporation, considers Amarchand
Mangaldas, Trilegal and Luthra & Luthra to be among the
top law firms in India “as far as the delivery and deal opinions
are concerned”.
Restructuring and insolvency
Many lawyers have expressed concerns about whether
India’s lawyers have the skills required to undertake the
wave of restructuring work expected this year. The firms
that have recognized restructuring practices win awards in
this category. They are Amarchand Mangaldas, Dhir & Dhir,
Kaden Boriss (formerly Kesar Dass B & Associates), Mulla
& Mulla, Sibal & Co and Trilegal.
Experienced litigator Vivek Sibal of Sibal & Co is widely
acclaimed for his insolvency work, arguing cases for clients
before forums such as the Board for Industrial and
Financial Reconstruction and the Appellate Authority for
Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. Sibal is a member
of INSOL India, an affiliate of INSOL International, which is
a global federation of lawyers and accountants who specialize
in insolvency.
Dhir & Dhir specializes in corporate reorganization, corporate
insolvency, M&A deal structuring and corporate
litigation. Managing partner Alok Dhir along with Maneesha
Dhir, Nilesh Sharma and Purti Marwaha are identified as
experts in the field.
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