Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 2010 Deals of the Year T he international fnancial crash that has crippled the worlds major economies since 2008 barely sideswiped India. So it is no surprise that 2010 was a major deal-making year, both for Indian companies domestically and internationally, and foreign multinational corporations seeking India-related investment. Following a lengthy period of research and consulta- tion, India Business Law Journal has selected 50 landmark deals and disputes, concluded between December 2009 and December 2010, that showcase legal talent at its best. The winning deals and cases, which are divided into sev- eral categories, have been chosen subjectively based on transactional data, submissions received from Indian and international law frms and a range of interviews conducted with India-focused legal and corporate professionals. In arriving at its decisions on the winning deals and cases, India Business Law Journals editorial team evaluated the signifcance of all shortlisted contenders from a legal and regulatory standpoint. The value and complexity of each deal or case was considered, as were any precedents that may have been established for the future. Capital markets Deals of the Year 1 Coal Indias IPO Value Principal law frms US$3.4 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Ashurst DLA Piper Luthra & Luthra The largest initial public offering in India to date raised US$3.43 billion for the government, which disinvested 10% of its shareholding in the company. DLA Piper advised both Coal India and the Indian government. I think the biggest challenge was simply taking a company that is genuinely India Business Law Journal showcases 50 of the most signifcant transactions, court cases and IP enforcement actions of 2010 and reveals the law frms that guided them George W Russell reports Cover story India Business Law Journal 24 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 ancient having operated for more than 100 years in vari- ous forms and bringing its disclosure and controls up to a level where it would be appropriate for sophisticated inter- national investors, says Stephen Peepels, a partner at DLA Piper in Hong Kong, who led his frms team. Domestically, a team from Luthra & Luthra led by partner Madhurima Mukherjee advised on the transaction. This would not be possible without the sheer hard work of Luthra & Luthra, Coal India chairman Partha S Bhattacharya said in his list- ing speech. Ashurst and Amarchand Mangaldas advised the lead managers. The result has brought delight to ana- lysts across India. The whole Coal India IPO appeared to be a fairy tale, as if the script was written somewhere in the heaven, says Jagannadham Thunuguntla, strategist and head of research at SMC Global Securities in Delhi. Be it the quality of the company, the pricing of the issue, the wide subscription from all kind of investors and a super impressive listing, all has fallen perfectly into place. For a detailed case study of Coal Indias IPO, see Firing up the markets on page 55. 2 National Mineral Development Corporations listing and follow-on offering Value Principal law frms US$2.2 billion Crawford Bayley & Co Dorsey & Whitney Gide Loyrette Nouel S&R Associates The Indi an government di vested i tsel f of around 8.38% of its holdings in National Mineral Development Corporation through a follow-on public offering and Rule 144A offering of 332.24 million equity shares. Gide Loyrette Nouel acted as international legal counsel to the selling shareholder, while Crawford Bayley & Co acted as domestic legal counsel to the selling shareholder. The Sydney offce of Dorsey & Whitney acted as interna- tional counsel to the underwriters in this public offering of shares in Asias third-largest iron ore producer. S&R Associates acted as domestic legal counsel to the book- running lead managers. 3 NTPCs further public offer Value Principal law frms US$1.8 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Luthra & Luthra OMelveny & Myers The further public offering (FPO) of equity shares in NTPC was the frst fast-track issue of a public sector undertak- ing in India. This means it occurred over a very compressed timetable, says David Makarechian, a Singapore-based partner at OMelveny & Myers, which advised the Indian governments Department of Disinvestment, as sole inter- national counsel to the offer. Amarchand Mangaldas acted as domestic legal counsel to the company and the selling shareholder. Luthra & Luthra was the domestic counsel to the book-running lead managers. The offering was also the frst-ever in which an Indian company used a French auction pricing approach, Makarechian adds, in which the promoters announce a minimum price, investors place sealed bids and the company then negotiates a minimum and maximum price with the market regulator. 4 Tata Motors equity and debt offerings Value Principal law frms US$1.5 billion (US$750 million in equity and US$750 million in debt) Amarchand Mangaldas AZB & Partners Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Sullivan & Cromwell Tata Motors offered US$550 million of A-shares and US$200 million of ordinary shares by way of institutional private placement outside the US and India, and an institu- tional placement in India. The company noted that the issue was successfully executed against the backdrop of volatile equity market conditions. There was also a concurrent debt offering of US$375 million of 4% convertible notes due in 2014 and 29.9 million global depositary shares for a total deal size of about US$750 million. Sullivan & Cromwell and AZB & Partners advised the issuer. Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy and Amarchand Mangaldas acted as managers counsel. The whole Coal India IPO appeared to be ... as if the script was written somewhere in the heaven Jagannadham Thunuguntla Strategist & Head of Research SMC Global Securities Cover story India Business Law Journal 25 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 5 Reliance Industries notes offering Value Principal law frms US$1.5 billion AZB & Partners Davis Polk & Wardwell Shearman & Sterling Reliance Industries arranged a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of US$1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes. It was the frst 30-year US dollar bond offer- ing by a private Asia-based company since 2003. Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Reliance Holding USA, while AZB & Partners advised Reliance Industries on Indian law and Shearman & Sterling advised the underwriters. 6 Adani Enterprises section 4(2) equity offering Value Principal law frms US$850 million Amarchand Mangaldas Jones Day Adani Enterprises issued US$850 million of equity shares in a qualifed institutional placement (QIP), in line with section 4(2) of the US Securities Act, 1933. This was the largest QIP to be undertaken in India during 2010. Amarchand Mangaldas and Jones Day were the sole legal advisers domestically and internationally on the deal. Yash Ashar led the Amarchand Mangaldas team. This transac- tion was made challenging by the concurrent merger which was taking place with Mundra Port, which led to complex disclosure and pro forma issues says Hong Kong-based Jeffrey Maddox, the lead partner for Jones Day. 7 Rural Electrifcation Corporations secondary global offering Value Principal law frms US$776 million Amarchand Mangaldas Ashurst Luthra & Luthra Ashurst, as i nternati onal counsel, advi sed Rural Electrifcation Corporation (REC), a listed public-sector enterprise, in connection with its follow-on public offer of equity shares constituting 20% of the existing paid-up capital. Amarchand Mangaldas advised the underwriters on Indian law aspects of the transaction while Luthra & Luthra advised REC. Ashurst had advised on the US$400 million original fotation of REC, the frms frst Indian IPO, in 2008. Amir Prasad, head of global corporate fnance at RBS India, identifed partners Madhurima Mukherjee and Kaushik Laik as key team members at Luthra & Luthra. The transaction marks its signifcance in being one of the frst FPOs subsequent to the notifcation of the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, Laik notes. 8 JSW Energys IPO Value Principal law frms US$660 million Amarchand Mangaldas Khaitan & Co Latham & Watkins JSW Energy looked to Amarchand Mangaldas for Indian legal advice on its US$660 million IPO. The deal was signifcant as JSWs original offer document had been withdrawn in July 2008 amid diffcult market conditions. Latham & Watkins acted as the international legal counsel for the underwriters, while Khaitan & Co advised as the underwriters domestic legal counsel. 9 Piramal Healthcares share buyback Value Principal law frm US$550 million Amarchand Mangaldas Piramal Healthcare, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India, arranged a buyback of 20% of its equity shares from its shareholders through a tender offer in accordance with section 77A of the Companies Act, 1956, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buy-Back of Securities) Regulations, 1998. The Piramal Healthcare transaction is the largest buyback in the history of corporate India, says Cyril Shroff, managing partner of Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai, which advised Piramal Healthcare. 10 MakeMyTrips IPO Value Principal law frms US$70 million Amarchand Mangaldas Conyers Dill & Pearman Latham & Watkins S&R Associates Shearman & Sterling Cover story India Business Law Journal 26 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 For what was just a US$70 million deal, the IPO of Indian travel website MakeMyTrip made quite a splash. The listing gave the US IPO market a much-needed fllip in August 2010 by closing up 89% on its debut, the best frst-day gain on the Nasdaq in three years. Latham & Watkins, led by Singapore partners Michael Sturrock and Rajiv Gupta, acted as special US counsel to MakeMyTrip. S&R Associates were the com- panys Indian legal counsel. The Port Louis and Singapore offces of Conyers Dill & Pearman also advised MakeMyTrip, as it is the frst Mauritius-incorporated company to list on a major New York stock exchange. Shearman & Sterling, led by partner Matthew Bersani in Hong Kong, and Amarchand Deals of the Year 2010 The winning capital markets deals Deal Value Principal law frms Coal Indias IPO US$3.4 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Ashurst DLA Piper Luthra & Luthra National Mineral Development Corporations listing and follow-on offering US$2.2 billion Crawford Bayley & Co Dorsey & Whitney Gide Loyrette Nouel S&R Associates NTPCs further public offer US$1.8 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Luthra & Luthra OMelveny & Myers Tata Motors equity and debt offerings US$1.5 billion Amarchand Mangaldas AZB & Partners Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Sullivan & Cromwell Reliance Industries notes offering US$1.5 billion AZB & Partners Davis Polk & Wardwell Shearman & Sterling Adani Enterprises section 4(2) equity offering US$850 million Amarchand Mangaldas Jones Day Rural Electrifcation Corporations secondary global offering US$776 million Amarchand Mangaldas Ashurst Luthra & Luthra JSW Energys IPO US$660 million Amarchand Mangaldas Khaitan & Co Latham & Watkins Piramal Healthcares share buyback US$550 million Amarchand Mangaldas MakeMyTrips IPO US$70 million Amarchand Mangaldas Conyers Dill & Pearman Latham & Watkins S&R Associates Shearman & Sterling Deals are listed in order of value. The principal law frms that worked on each deal are listed alphabetically. Cover story India Business Law Journal 27 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 Mangaldas, led by partners Prashant Gupta in Delhi and Yash Ashar in Mumbai, advised the underwriters. M&A Deals of the Year 1 Bharti Airtels acquisition of Zain assets Value Principal law frms US$9 billion Allen & Overy AZB & Partners Herbert Smith Linklaters Loyens & Loeff Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Stibbe Trilegal WongPartnership One of the most complex deals of 2010 was the acquisition by Indias Bharti Airtel of the assets in 16 African countries of the Kuwait City-based Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain) for US$9 billion. The entire deal from end to end was both interesting and innovative in the manner in which it was handled and fnalized, says Vijaya Sampath, group gen- eral counsel and company secretary at Bharti Enterprises. Herbert Smith was the international legal adviser to Bharti Airtel. The Herbert Smith team was led by Michael Walter, Alan Montgomery and Nick Elverston, while the team at its Dutch affliate Stibbe was led by Bjorn van der Klip and Maarten de Bruin. Linklaters, under partner Charlie Jacobs, acted for Zain globally, while AZB & Partners, led by Delhi partners Ajay Bahl and Gautam Saha, represented the com- pany domestically. Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, led by fnance partner Suhrud Mehta in London and India practice head Glenn Gerstell in Washington, acted for Bharti Airtel on the fnancing arrangements supporting its acquisition. The Bharti-Zain deal was a truly transformational transaction, says Gerstell. Trilegal was the Indian counsel and Allen & Overy advised Standard Chartered Bank, as mandated lead arranger and lead adviser. On the borrower side, Loyens & Loeff provided Dutch counsel and WongPartnership addressed Singaporean law issues. To add to the complex- ity was the multiplicity of regulations, regulators, jurisdictions, labour and employee laws, judicial and political systems, listing and disclosure requirements, local ownership require- ments, approvals and timing, licence requirements as well as market asymmetries and divergent cultures, Sampath says. Intelligence report India Business Law Journal 40 Directory of Indian Law Firms July/August 2010 Atman Law Partners Established in 2009 CONTACT DETAILS - Chennai - 2/644A, Third Main Road River View Colony, Manapakkam Chennai - 600 125, India Telephone: +91 44 2252 1946 Fax: +91 80 3072 3683 Email: Chennai@atmanlaw.com Contact: Vivek G Durai - Bangalore - 602A, Queens Corner, Queens Rd. Bangalore - 560 001, India Telephone: +91 80 2237 2499 Fax: +91 80 3072 3683 Email: Bangalore@atmanlaw.com Contacts: Chinmay J Mirji, Siddharth Muchandi Website: www.atmanlaw.com Key practice areas: Civil & criminal litigation, infrastructure & project fnance, corporate & structured fnance, corporate, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, real estate, competition & policy, technology, media & telecoms. Number of partners: 3 Number of associates: 8 Principal offces: Chennai, Bangalore Atman (pronounced aath-mahn) is a fast-growing business law frm based in the south Indian cities of Bangalore and Chennai. We assist Indian and overseas clients in a number of practice areas and industry sectors. Our practise of law distinguishes itself with its focus on grounded, honest advice and timely, affordable assistance to clients. We bridge the ease of access, commercial sense and tight integration afforded by in-house counsel, with the accountability, experience and standards of a traditional law frm. AZB & Partners Established in 2004 CONTACT DETAILS 23rd Floor Express Towers Nariman Point Mumbai - 400 021, India Telephone: +91 22 6639 6880 Fax: +91 22 6639 6888 Email: mumbai@azbpartners.com Contact: Ms Zia Mody Plot No A-8, Sector 4 Noida - 201 301, India Telephone: +91 120 417 9999 Fax: +91 120 4179900 Email: delhi@azbpartners.com Contact: Mr Ajay Bahl Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, securities law, venture capital/private equity funds, banking & fnance, aviation, insurance, litigation & arbitration, taxation, real estate, infrastructure, information technology and intellectual property. Number of partners: 19 (approximately) Number of associates: 225 (approximately) Principal offces: Mumbai, New Delhi Other offces: Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad AZB & Partners is a prominent, full service law frm with offces in six Indian cities. The legal services rendered by the frm cover the corporate, commercial, regulatory, fnancial and tax planning aspects of modern businesses. The frms practice is structured to offer a combination of legal and transactional expertise, and broader market sector knowledge in a timely and effective manner. The frm has advised Indian and international clients over a wide range of practice areas. It has won numerous accolades and is consistently ranked as a leading law frm in the country. IBLJ1007-all-new VCJB.indd 40 2/9/2010 22:00:03 Cover story India Business Law Journal 28 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 Crawford Bayley & Co Established in 1830 CONTACT DETAILS State Bank of India Buildings NGN Vaidya Marg Mumbai - 400 023 India Telephone: +91 22 2266 8000 +91 22 2266 3713 +91 22 2266 5413 Fax: +91 22 2266 3978 +91 22 2266 0986 +91 22 2266 0355 Email: sanjay.asher@ crawfordbayley.com Contact: Mr Sanjay Asher Partner Direct tel: +91 22 2266 3353 Direct fax: +91 22 2266 3978 Mobile: +91 98200 23823 Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial practice, mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, joint ventures & foreign collaboration, privatisation & disinvestment, banking & corporate fnance, intellectual property law, litigation & dispute resolution, real estate & property law, indirect taxation, labour & employment, admiralty & shipping law, information technology, e-banking & e-commerce. Number of partners: 12 Number of associates: 75 Principal offce: Mumbai Crawford Bayley & Co, having established in 1830 currently has a team of 150 members, including 12 partners, over 75 associates and 15 paralegal personnel and a supporting staff of over 75 individuals. Partners at Crawford Bayley & Co: Rajendra Ambalal Shah Dadi Bejonji Engineer Hemraj Chaturbhuj Asher Chetan Manbhai Maniar Darius Cavasji Shroff Sanjay Khatau Asher Ms Zarine Minocher Talaty Marco Philippus Ardeshir Wadia Saumil Shantaram Rege Kumar Shirish Trivedi Sanjay Ramakant Buch Prashant Khatau Asher Cover story India Business Law Journal 29 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 2 Vedantas purchase of Cairn India Value Principal law frms US$8.5 billion Allen & Overy Amarchand Mangaldas AZB & Partners Conyers Dill & Pearman Latham & Watkins Linklaters S&R Associates Shepherd and Wedderburn Talwar Thakore & Associates One of the most high-profile deals in recent years is Vedanta Resources acquisition of a 51% stake in Cairn India in a US$8.5 billion transaction. This is one of the larg- est M&A deals by value undertaken by an India company in recent years and involves US$6.5 billion of debt fnancing a considerable amount in todays market. The deal has been complicated by diffculties within Indias bureaucracy. State-owned ONGC and Indias petroleum ministry had opposed the deal and Cairn will require at least 10 separate clearances covering each production-sharing contract. Sanjeev Dhuna of Allen & Overy and Zia Mody, Shuva Mandal and Essaji Vahanvati of AZB & Partners are act- ing for Vedanta Resources on the fnancing arrangements. Unlike other M&A fnancings, this fnancing involved the capital markets, the equity markets and the debt mar- kets, says Guy Nicholls, an Allen & Overy spokesman in London. Each of these different markets was utilized under one common fnancing structure. Five Latham & Watkins partners Rajiv Gupta in Singapore, David Miles in Hong Kong, and Graeme Ward, Rory Negus and Sean Finn in London worked on the deal on Vedantas behalf. Shepherd and Wedderburn is advising Cairn India interna- tionally, while Amarchand Mangaldas and S&R Associates are Indian counsel to Cairn. Linklaters and Talwar Thakore & Associates are acting for the lenders. Conyers Dill & Pearman is acting as counsel for Vedanta in Mauritius. 3 Abbotts acquisition of a division of Piramal Healthcare Value Principal law frms US$3.7 billion Baker & McKenzie Crawford Bayley & Co Luthra & Luthra Stephenson Harwood Not all major deals involved Indian companies expanding overseas. The global pharmaceutical industry, for example, saw further consolidation with the purchase by US-based Abbott Laboratories of the generics division of Piramal Healthcare for about US$3.7 billion. The deal was inter- rupted by the Icelandic ash cloud that crippled international travel in April and May 2010. Andrew Edge, a Stephenson Harwood partner advising Piramal, had previously advised the Indian company on a number of its own acquisitions while working at Ashurst. Luthra & Luthra partners Mohit Saraf, Samir Dudhoria, Vikrant Kumar, Vikas Srivastava, SR Patnaik and Sanjeev Sachdeva, and Pablo Garcia Moreno and Olivia Tyrrell of Baker & McKenzies Chicago office acted for Abbott. Edge and Stephenson Harwood partners Eifon Morris and Duncan Stiles, all in London, and RA Shah of Crawford Bayley & Co in Mumbai led the teams advising Piramal Healthcare. 4 Chennai Network Infrastructures tower purchase from Aircel Value Principal law frms US$1.8 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Wadia Ghandy & Co In what was the largest all-cash M&A transaction in India to date, Amarchand Mangaldas partners Gunjan Shah and Anirudh Das advised the Aircel Group on the sale of its telecommunications tower business to Chennai Network Infrastructure, part of the GTL Group, for about US$1.8 billion. GTL will acquire 17,500 towers in a transaction struc- tured to ensure Aircels services are not disrupted. The deal was spread over a year and involved investment bank- ers on both sides, lengthy and challenging negotiations and a court process for completion of the transfer of the passive undertaking, says Fariyal Tahseen, a Mumbai partner at Wadia Ghandy & Co, who led the team advising the buyer. 5 Reliance Industries joint venture with Atlas Energy Value Principal law frms US$1.7 billion Jones Day Ledgewood P&A Law Offces Vinson & Elkins Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz Reliance Industries the largest private-sector com- pany in India by capitalization and turnover acquired a 40% interest in more than 120,000 hectares leased by Cover story India Business Law Journal 30 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 Deals of the Year 2010 The winning M&A deals Deal Value Principal law frms Bharti Airtels acquisition of Zain assets US$9 billion Allen & Overy AZB & Partners Herbert Smith Linklaters Loyens & Loeff Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Stibbe Trilegal WongPartnership Vedantas purchase of Cairn India US$8.5 billion Allen & Overy Amarchand Mangaldas AZB & Partners Conyers Dill & Pearman Latham & Watkins Linklaters S&R Associates Shepherd and Wedderburn Talwar Thakore Associates Abbotts acquisition of a division of Piramal Healthcare US$3.7 billion Baker & McKenzie Crawford Bayley & Co Luthra & Luthra Stephenson Harwood Chennai Network Infrastructures tower purchase from Aircel US$1.8 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Wadia Ghandy & Co Reliance Industries joint venture with Atlas Energy US$1.7 billion Jones Day Ledgewood P&A Law Offces Vinson & Elkins Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz Diligentas acquisition of Unisys UK life and pensions business US$386 million Berwin Leighton Paisner Khaitan & Co Morrison & Foerster Travers Smith Shree Renukas purchase of Grupo Equipav Acar e lcool US$329 million Crawford Bayley & Co TozziniFreire Advogados Veirano Advogados Bharti Airtels purchase of a 70% stake in Warid Telecom US$300 million AZB & Partners Clifford Chance Glodynes acquisition of DecisionOne US$104 million Blank Rome J Sagar Associates Kirkland & Ellis Rajani Associates Mahindra & Mahindras tractor joint venture US$40 million King & Wood Deals are listed in order of value. The principal law frms that worked on each deal are listed alphabetically. Cover story India Business Law Journal 31 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 US-based Atlas Energy in the Marcellus shale deposit in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for about US$1.7 billion. Houston partners Marcia Backus and Doug Bland headed a Vinson & Elkins team advising Reliance Marcellus, an affliate of the Indian company. Anand Pathak of P&A Law Offces advised Reliance on Indian law. Jeffrey Schlegel, a Houston partner with Jones Day; David Lam and Adam Emmerich, New York partners at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; and Philadelphia-based Ledgewood member Lisa Ernst led those frms representation of Atlas Energy and Atlas Energy Resources. 6 Diligentas acquisition of Unisys UK life and pensions business Value Principal law frms US$386 million Berwin Leighton Paisner Khaitan & Co Morrison & Foerster Travers Smith Diligenta, a London-based subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Services, acquired the UK life and pensions business of Unisys Insurance Service in a deal worth 250 million (US$386 million). Mark Lewis, a London-based partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner headed the team advising Tata Consultancy Services and Diligenta. Berwins outsourc- ing and corporate teams really understand the drivers of our business, says Martin Manning, the commercial and legal director for Britain and Ireland at Tata Consultancy Services. Khaitan & Co advised Tata Consultancy Services domestically. Ann Bevitt and David Skinner of Morrison & Foerster in London advised former Unisys client Phoenix Group Holdings on the outsourcing of its life and pension payment services to Diligenta, while Travers Smith, led by Richard Spedding in London, advised Unisys Corporation and Unisys UK. 7 Shree Renukas purchase of Grupo Equipav Acar e lcool Value Principal law frms US$329 million Crawford Bayley & Co TozziniFreire Advogados Veirano Advogados A landmark cross-border investment emerged in the unlikeliest of places. Shree Renuka Sugars, based in Belgaum in the harsh, dry landscape of northern Karnataka, paid about US$329 million to acquire Grupo Equipav Acar e lcool, a sugar and ethanol producer with its roots in the lush, tropical wilderness of Brazils Cear state. It is the largest Indian investment in Brazil and will break new ground in agribusiness between Brazil and India, says Pedro Aguiar de Freitas, a senior partner at Veirano Advogados in its Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo offces, who led a team advising Shree Renuka Sugars. Sanjay Asher, a partner at Crawford Bayley & Co, advised Shree Renuka in India, while So Paulo-based TozziniFreire Advogados partner Darcy Teixeira Junior headed a team advising Equipav. 8 Bharti Airtels purchase of a 70% stake in Warid Telecom Value Principal law frms US$300 million AZB & Partners Clifford Chance Bharti Airtel fgures in yet another telecommunications deal with its purchase of a 70% stake in Warid Telecom, the fourth-largest mobile company in Bangladesh, from the Abu Dhabi Group for about US$300 million. With it, Bharti Airtel became the frst Indian operator to enter the Bangladesh mobile market. AZB & Partners advised Bharti Airtel in the acquisition, which was made through the issue of fresh shares in Warid and through the purchase of existing shares held by Warid Telecom International. AZB partner Gautam Saha led the frms advisory team from Delhi. John Graham, a partner in the Abu Dhabi offce of Clifford Chance, led a team advising Abu Dhabi Group, an investment company based in the United Arab Emirates, and Warid Telecom. 9 Glodynes acquisition of DecisionOne Value Principal law frms US$104 million Blank Rome J Sagar Associates Kirkland & Ellis Rajani Associates Kirkland & Ellis and Rajani Associates acted as interna- tional and Indian advisers respectively to Mumbai-based technology management services company Glodyne Technoserve in its leveraged buyout (LBO) of DecisionOne, a US company twice its size, for about US$104 million. The deal is expected to catapult Glodyne from a bit player into a major force in the growing feld of outsourced tech- nology management services. This was the frst major LBO of an American company by an Indian company which used a signifcant amount of Indian debt, says Abrar Hussain, a corporate partner in San Francisco who led the Kirkland & Ellis team. ICICI Bank provided US$80 million of leverage. One major challenge was to marry the foreign laws with VEIRANO ADVOGADOS Rio de Janeiro So Paulo Porto Alegre Braslia Ribeiro Preto www.veirano.com.br institucional@veirano.com.br Providing a broad range of specialized Business Law and Corporate Consulting services for 38 years. Partnering for development is our business. Our Infrastructure and Natural Resources practice areas have been supporting clients in the implementation of major projects in Brazil in the following sectors: Biofuels & Ethanol Energy Shipping Industry Mining Oil & Gas Transportation & Logistics Systems VeiranoAdvogados ter a-feira,4dejaneirode201114:57:55 Cover story India Business Law Journal 33 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 the Indian regulations, says Alok Sonker, an associate at Rajani Associates in Mumbai. Partners Gary Goldenberg and Linsey Bozzelli of Blank Rome advised DecisionOne internationally. J Sagar Associates in Mumbai advised the company on Indian law. 10 Mahindra & Mahindras tractor joint venture Value Principal law frm US$40 million King & Wood In a foretaste of what may be many deals to come between Chinese and Indian corporate entities, Mahindra & Mahindra fnalized a joint venture with state-owned Yueda (Yancheng) Tractor Co, based in Jiangsu province. The joint venture, known as Mahindra Yueda Yancheng Tractor Co, will be injected with US$40 million under a deal concluded in December 2009 to create a research and development facil- ity and a manufacturing plant for engines. King & Wood, led by partner Mark Schaub, advised Mahindra & Mahindra. Yueda Group employed its own in-house legal team. Banking & fnance Deals of the Year 1 Macquarie/State Bank of India/IFC infrastructure fund Value Principal law frms US$2 billion Allen & Gledhill Amarchand Mangaldas J Sagar Associates Mallesons Stephen Jaques Australias Macquarie Capital, the State Bank of India ( SBI ) and the International Finance Corporation ( IFC) entered into an offshore joint venture based in Singapore and a domestic joint venture based in India to establish and manage an international offshore fund and an Indian domestic fund to invest in infrastructure in India. The deal brought about the successful launch of one of the worlds largest private equity international infrastructure funds. The fund was originally launched in April 2009 and raised US$1 billion. The fund raised further capital during 2010 with fnal close taking place in October with the fund topping out at US$2 billion. Mallesons Stephen Jaques led by John Sullivan, an M&A partner based in Sydney advised Macquarie on Australian law. Dina Wadia, a Mumbai-based partner at J Sagar Associates, and Tan Su May, a partner at Allen & Gledhill in Singapore, acted for Macquarie in relation to Indian and Singaporean law respectively. Amarchand Mangaldas, led by partner Ashwath Rau, acted for SBI and IFC. 2 State Bank of Indias bond issues Value Principal law frm US$1.99 billion (US$1 billion and 750 million) Allen & Overy The State Bank of India (SBI), the countrys largest public- sector bank, successfully issued separate bonds in the international capital markets worth US$1 billion and 750 million (US$993 million) respectively, with both issues due in 2015. The US-dollar bonds were sold pursuant to Rule 144A to US investors and the euro bonds were sold pursuant to Regulation S to investors in Europe and Asia. This is a signature deal, despite market turbulence and volatility, SBI chairman OP Bhatt said of the US dollar bond. We believe the success of this transaction will also allow Indian issuers to more easily access the US markets. The euro offering, meanwhile, was the largest Regulation S bond by an Indian entity and one of the biggest euro-denominated issues by an Asian fnancial institution. Allen & Overy, led by Andrew Harrow in Hong Kong, advised SBI. 3 HSBCs acquisition of RBS India Value Principal law frms US$1.8 billion Bharucha & Partners Linklaters Norton Rose Talwar Thakore & Associates HSBC acquired the retail and commercial banking business in India of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The acquisition, which is subject to various conditions This was the frst major LBO of an American company by an Indian company Abrar Hussain Corporate Partner Kirkland & Ellis Cover story India Business Law Journal 34 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 including regulatory approvals, involves portfolios with a gross asset value of US$1.8 billion. Bank acquisi- tion transactions in India are inherently complex given that the Indian banking sector is heavily regulated, notes Jay Parikh, a seni or associ ate i n Mumbai at Bharucha & Partners, which advised HSBC on Indian law aspects. Striking a balance between banking laws and regulations and the clients desire to cherry-pick a portfolio of assets and liabilities was the key challenge. Norton Rose advised HSBC internationally with a team led by Hong Kong corporate finance partner Richard Crosby. Linklaters, led by partner Matthew Middleditch in London, acted for RBS internationally, while Talwar Thakore & Associates partners Feroz Dubash, Suresh Talwar and Shobhan Thakore provided Indian law advice to RBS. The in-house counsel team at HSBC was led by Marjory Miller and Jasmine Batliwalla. Rushad Abadan, Emma Rees and Michael Loughney headed the internal legal unit at RBS. 4 ICICI Banks notes offering Value Principal law frms US$1 billion Davis Polk & Wardwell Latham & Watkins Davis Polk & Wardwell advised ICICI Bank in connec- tion with the issuance of US$1 billion in 5.75% notes due 2020. This is the frst senior US dollar deal with a 10-year maturity to be issued by an Indian bank. Latham & Watkins advised the underwriters: Barclays Bank, Citigroup Global Markets and Deutsche Bank. Partners Rajiv Gupta, Michael Sturrock and Ng Min Yee in Singapore and Jiyeon Lee-Lim in New York advised on the deal. 5 Standard Chartereds listing of Indian depository receipts Value Principal law frms US$530 million Amarchand Mangaldas Linklaters Slaughter and May Talwar Thakore & Associates Standard Chartered Bank became the frst multinational bank to list in India with its public issue and listing of Indian depository receipts (IDRs) representing underlying new ordi- nary shares. The bank raised about US$530 million by selling 240 million IDRs at a price of `104 each. The IDRs have been Deals of the Year 2010 The winning banking & fnance deals Deal Value Principal law frms Macquarie/State Bank of India/IFC infrastructure fund US$2 billion Allen & Gledhill Amarchand Mangaldas J Sagar Associates Mallesons Stephen Jaques State Bank of Indias bond issues US$1.99 billion Allen & Overy HSBCs acquisition of RBS India US$1.8 billion Bharucha & Partners Linklaters Norton Rose Talwar Thakore & Associates ICICI Banks notes offering US$1 billion Davis Polk & Wardwell Latham & Watkins Standard Chartereds listing of Indian depository receipts US$530 million Amarchand Mangaldas Linklaters Slaughter and May Talwar Thakore & Associates Deals are listed in order of value. The principal law frms that worked on each deal are listed alphabetically. Cover story India Business Law Journal 35 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. Slaughter and May advised Standard Chartered as international counsel. Partners Nilufer von Bismarck in London and Laurence Rudge in Hong Kong led the frms team. We worked closely with Amarchand Mangaldas to establish the regulatory framework in India for an offering of IDRs, says Bismarck. Amarchand Mangaldas acted for the bank on Indian law. This was the frst IDR issue since the notification of the Companies (Issue of Indian Depository Receipts) Rules, 2004, by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, says Amarchand partner Prashant Gupta. Further, this was the frst issue undertaken under the reduced timelines of 12 working days notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on 22 April 2010. Linklaters, headed by India group head Sandeep Katwala, and Talwar Thakore & Associates, led by partners Shobhan Thakore and Rahul Gulati, advised the book-running lead managers. The issue was positively received by investors. Standard Chartered Bank could be among one of the few global banks which investors would like to bet on and, hence, justifes its premium over its peers, says Abhijit Majumder, an analyst with the Prabhudas Lilladher brokerage in Mumbai. Private equity Deals of the Year 1 The Sultanate of Omans private equity fund Value Principal law frms US$1.5 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Trilegal Given the economic meltdown in Dubai, it is unsurpris- ing that India has turned to other Gulf states for investors. In a possible sign of future development, the state-owned State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman has launched a private equity fund in India as a joint venture with the State Bank of India (SBI). Nishant Parikh of Trilegal in Mumbai advised the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman on the deal. The fund opened in July with US$100 million as an initial investment. The eventual target is US$1.5 billion. Amarchand Mangaldas advised SBI. 2 Quadrangles investment in Tower Vision India Value Principal law frms US$300 million Appleby Davis Polk & Wardwell Desai & Diwanji Richards Butler Tatva Legal Tower Vision India, a Gurgaon-based independent cellular telephone tower management company, raised US$300 million from a consortium of international private- equity investors led by Quadrangle Capital Partners. Tatva Legal, led by partner Avinash Mody, advised Tower Vision India on due diligence and other Indian matters. Richards Butler advised Tower Vision Mauritius, of which Tower Vision India is a subsidiary, on the international aspects of the deal. The Port Louis offce of Appleby also advised on offshore matters. With this deal, New York- headquartered Quadrangle makes its debut in India. Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Quadrangle, with Hong Kong partner Mark Lehmkuhler and of-counsel Margaret Ayres in Washington leading the frms teams. Desai & Diwanji partners Apurva Diwanji in Mumbai and Amit Khansaheb in Delhi provided Indian advice. 3 Macquarie SBIs investment in Viom Networks Value Principal law frms US$300 million Amarchand Mangaldas AZB & Partners Desai & Diwanji Telecom tower fever continued with Macquarie SBI Infrastructure Funds purchase of an 11% stake in Viom Networks, a telecom infrastructure company with more than 37,000 towers, for about US$300 million. Amarchand Mangaldas, led by partner Ashwath Rau, represented Macquarie SBI Infrastructure Fund, which is a joint ven- ture between Australias Macquarie Capital and the State Bank of India. In 2009, Quippo Telecom Infrastructure and Tata Teleservices merged their passive infrastructure business to form Viom Networks. Desai & Diwanji advised Quippo Telecom Infrastructure while AZB & Partners, led by Mumbai-based partner Vaishali Sharma, acted for Tata Teleservices. 4 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts investment in Coffee Day Value Principal law frms US$200 million AZB & Partners Desai & Diwanji Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Tatva Legal Kohlberg Kravis Roberts led a consortium of private equity firms, including New Silk Route and Standard Chartered Private Equity, to invest about US$200 million in Coffee Day Resorts, which owns the Caf Coffee Day chain MILBANK, TWEED, HADLEY & MCCLOY LLP For more information on Milbank and its practices, visit www.milbank.com Beijing | Frankfurt | Hong Kong | London | Los Angeles | Munich | New York | So Paulo | Singapore | Tokyo | Washington, DC What others have to say about Milbank: When you absolutely need a fnancing to be delivered, no matter what the pressures, complexities and costs, Milbank can offer a service that few can match. Chambers Global, 2010
Milbank is known for the diversity and depth of the deals it takes on. For one client: They are simply the best of the best. International Financial Law Review, 2009
The caliber of the lawyers, from frst year associate to seasoned partner, is incredible. To a one, they are well-versed in their respective areas of expertise, highly professional, and have a great deal of integrity. US Legal 500, 2009 A strong network, combined with an established and growing reputation in practice areas which are on the up, place this respected New York institution in an enviable position. PLC Global 50, 2009
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Milbank has assisted Indian companies and their lenders and underwriters in some of the most complex M&A and capital markets transactions and acquisition and project fnancings ever undertaken. Leaders in cross-border transactions Cover story India Business Law Journal 37 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 as well as resorts and business parks. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Kohlberg Kravis Roberts internationally. For Indian law matters, Darshika Kothari, a partner with AZB & Partners, advised the private equity investment vehicle, KKR Mauritius PE Investments II. Desai & Diwanji advised Standard Chartered and NK Dilip of Tatva Legal advised Coffee Day Resorts. 5 TAs investment in Micromax Value Principal law frms US$45 million Amarchand Mangaldas Goodwin Procter IndusLaw Lexygen US private equity major TA Associates increased its India holdings by purchasing a minority stake in telephone handset maker Micromax Informatics for about US$45 million with a view to the company exporting its low-cost products into Africa and Latin America. Indian counsel Lexygen led by founding partner Vijay Sambamurthi provided advice to TA Associates on diligence, structuring, negotiations and documentation. Goodwin Procter served as international counsel. IndusLaw, headed by Gaurav Dani, advised Micromax domestically. TA later brought in two more private equity investors Sequoia Capital and Sandstone Capital, as investors into Micromax. Amarchand Mangaldas represented the newcomers. Real estate Deals of the Year 1 DB Realtys IPO Value Principal law frms US$329 million AZB & Partners Jones Day Luthra & Luthra DB Realty, a real estate development company that spe- cializes in commercial, residential and retail developments Deals of the Year 2010 The winning private equity deals Deal Value Principal law frms The Sultanate of Omans private equity fund US$1.5 billion Amarchand Mangaldas Trilegal Quadrangles investment in Tower Vision India US$300 million Appleby Davis Polk & Wardwell Desai & Diwanji Richards Butler Tatva Legal Macquarie SBIs investment in Viom Networks US$300 million Amarchand Mangaldas AZB & Partners Desai & Diwanji Kohlberg Kravis Roberts investment in Coffee Day US$200 million AZB & Partners Desai & Diwanji Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Tatva Legal TAs investment in Micromax US$45 million Amarchand Mangaldas Goodwin Procter IndusLaw Lexygen Deals are listed in order of value. The principal law frms that worked on each deal are listed alphabetically. MILBANK, TWEED, HADLEY & MCCLOY LLP For more information on Milbank and its practices, visit www.milbank.com Beijing | Frankfurt | Hong Kong | London | Los Angeles | Munich | New York | So Paulo | Singapore | Tokyo | Washington, DC What others have to say about Milbank: When you absolutely need a fnancing to be delivered, no matter what the pressures, complexities and costs, Milbank can offer a service that few can match. Chambers Global, 2010
Milbank is known for the diversity and depth of the deals it takes on. For one client: They are simply the best of the best. International Financial Law Review, 2009
The caliber of the lawyers, from frst year associate to seasoned partner, is incredible. To a one, they are well-versed in their respective areas of expertise, highly professional, and have a great deal of integrity. US Legal 500, 2009 A strong network, combined with an established and growing reputation in practice areas which are on the up, place this respected New York institution in an enviable position. PLC Global 50, 2009
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Milbank has assisted Indian companies and their lenders and underwriters in some of the most complex M&A and capital markets transactions and acquisition and project fnancings ever undertaken. Leaders in cross-border transactions Cover story India Business Law Journal 38 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 in and around Mumbai, went public, selling `15 billion (US$330 million) of equity shares in an IPO and con- current Rule 144A and Regulation S offering. Partner Madhurima Mukherjee of Luthra & Luthra led a team advising DB Realty and acting as domestic legal coun- sel to underwriters DB Corporation, Enam Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. Jones Day, led by Singapore partners Manoj Bhargava and Jeffrey Maddox, acted as international legal counsel to the lead managers, Enam Securities and Kotak Mahindra Capital, while AZB & Partners advised the selling shareholder, Cliffrose Investment. The issue was one of the frst few transactions wherein Securities and Exchange Board of India gave clarity on the protection rights of a private equity investor post listing of the equity shares of the issuer company, says Mukherjee. 2 Fortis purchase of 10 hospitals Value Principal law frms US$200 million Amarchand Mangaldas Vaish Associates For ti s Heal thcare acqui red 10 hospi tal s fi ve i n Bangalore, three in Kolkata and two in Mumbai and four nursing schools and colleges from Wockhardt Hospitals for a lump sum, which included their employees, doctors, immovable properties, shares of its subsidiary, assets and goodwill. There was a total synchronized system in place in terms of all protocols for transfer so that the business, values, properties and intellectual property was transmitted over to Fortis with full value intact, says Debolina Partap, associate vice-president and head of legal at Wockhardt India. The legal teams ensured the smooth process for this. Vaish Associates Mumbai partner Bomi Daruwala led the team for Fortis Healthcare, while Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai managing partner Cyril Shroff and corporate partner Nivedita Rao led the legal team for Wockhardt Hospitals. Deals of the Year 2010 The winning real estate deals Deal Value Principal law frms DB Realtys IPO US$329 million AZB & Partners Jones Day Luthra & Luthra Fortis purchase of 10 hospitals US$200 million Amarchand Mangaldas Vaish Associates Borosil Glass Works sale US$178 million Kanga & Co Khaitan & Co Ackruti City slum redevelopments US$109 million Amarchand Mangaldas DSK Legal White & Case Shiv Nadar University development Undisclosed Koura & Co Deals are listed in order of value. The principal law frms that worked on each deal are listed alphabetically. The legal teams ensured the smooth process for this Debolina Partap Associate Vice-President & Head of Legal Wockhardt India Cover story India Business Law Journal 39 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 3 Borosil Glass Works sale Value Principal law frms US$178 million Kanga & Co Khaitan & Co The former Borosil Glass Works site in Marol, Andheri (East) a plot measuring more than 7.4 hectares was one of the most sought-after industrial land tracts in met- ropolitan Mumbai. In August, Khaitan & Co advised Borosil on the sale of the land to Neepa Real Estate in an all-cash transaction totalling US$178 million. Senior partners Pradip (Pinto) Khaitan and Haigreve Khaitan and partner Sudip Mullick advised Borosil on transaction documents for the sale and transfer of the property. Kanga & Co part- ners ML Bhakta and Dhaval Vussonji advised Neepa Real Estate. 4 Ackruti City slum redevelopments Value Principal law frms US$109 million Amarchand Mangaldas DSK Legal White & Case Ackruti City Ltd sought up to US$109 million in fnancing for foreign-direct-investment-compliant slum redevelop- ment projects in India by the issue of an unusual mix of offshore fixed fully convertible unsecured debentures, onshore secured optionally convertible debentures and an onshore loan. Kate Allchurch and William Kirschner in Singapore led a White & Case team that advised Deutsche Bank on the fnancing and also represented DB Trustees (Hong Kong) as trustee in the transaction. Amarchand Mangaldas represented the bank domestically, while DSK Legal advised Ackruti City on Indian law. 5 Shiv Nadar University development Value Principal law frm Undisclosed Koura & Co Shiv Nadar, the founder of Indias HCL Group, sought to acquire 112 hectares of land near Noida in Uttar Pradesh for the establishment of Shiv Nadar University. The university is part of Nadars philanthropic programme. Delhi-based law frm Koura & Co was instructed to draw up a constitution for the university, obtain the required regulatory accreditations and approvals and draft a State University Act to be passed to establish the university. The frm was also required to obtain land on which to build the institution Almost every major acquisition of land in India is fraught with problems, and invariably leads to some form of litigation, says VN Koura, who heads Koura & Co in Delhi. In one of these projects wherein the acquisition of 112 hectares of land was at stake, we have had to han- dle substantial litigation which we were able to speedily and successfully resolve through the judicial system. Infrastructure Deals the Year 1 GMRs sale of its InterGen stake to China Huaneng Value Principal law frms US$1.23 billion De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Houthoff Buruma Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom White & Case Indias GMR Infrastructure entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its 50% stake in the global power generation company InterGen for US$1.23 billion to an affliate of state-owned China Huaneng Group, Chinas largest power generation company. It is the largest cross- border transaction between a Chinese and an Indian entity to date. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, led by China partners Jon Christianson and Gregory Miao and New York of counsel Edmund Duffy, were the principal international legal advisers to China Huaneng Group. Alexander Kaarls of Houthoff Buruma advised on Dutch law, which applied to certain aspects of the multi-jurisdictional transaction. A White & Case team led by New York partner Nandan Nelivigi acted as lead international counsel to GMR, while Ton Schutte led a De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek team advising GMR on Dutch law. InterGen owns power plants in Australia, Britain, Mexico, the Netherlands and the Philippines with more than 8,000 megawatts of gross operational capacity. 2 L&Ts new shipyard in Tamil Nadu Value Principal law frm US$750 million India Law Services L&T Shipbuilding, the marine arm of Indian construction and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, will boost its capacity by constructing a shipyard for the manufac- ture of defence and commercial vessels near Ennore in Tamil Nadu. The shipbuilder arranged the fnancing of the landmark US$750 million project for a lender (the details of which are confdential). The operation and construction Cover story India Business Law Journal 40 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 period run simultaneously, requiring inclusion of special fnancial provisions for safeguarding the lenders inter- ests, says AG Karkhanis a Mumbai-based partner with India Law Services, which served as the lenders legal counsel. L&T Shipbuilding was represented by its in-house lawyers. 3 Private equity investment in Asian Genco Value Principal law frms US$425 million Allen & Gledhill Appleby Boies Schiller & Flexner Davis Polk & Wardwell General Law Partners J Sagar Associates Lexygen Paul Weiss Shearman & Sterling WongPartnership A private equity consortium comprising Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, Norwest Venture Partners, General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs Investment Management, and Everstone Capital invested US$425 million in Asian Genco, an infrastructure company which has investments in Indian power generation assets and engineering services busi- nesses. The deal was signifcant in that it was the largest private equity transaction to take place in the power sec- tor in India. This is also one of the largest private equity transactions in the Indian market in almost two years, says Madhumita Sangma, an associate with Lexygen. Lexygen, led by founding partner Vijay Sambamurthi, advised con- sortium leader Morgan Stanley Infrastructure as Indian counsel on structuring, negotiations and documentation, while J Sagar Associates acted as Indian counsel on legal due diligence. Other legal advisers to the consortium included Davis Polk & Wardwell led by Hong Kong part- ner Kirtee Kapoor as international counsel and Steven Seow of Allen & Gledhill as Singapore counsel. Appleby, headed by Malcolm Moller, acted as the Mauritius legal counsel. Individual consortium members with legal coun- sel included General Atlantic (Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison), Goldman Sachs (Boies Schiller & Flexner) and Norwest (Shearman & Sterling). Asian Genco was repre- sented by WongPartnership as Singaporean counsel and Rajesh Maralla of General Law Partners in Hyderabad as Indian counsel. 4 Bank of Baroda-led loan to Indus Gas Value Principal law frms US$110 million Amarchand Mangaldas Carey Olsen TLT Solicitors Bank of Baroda led a syndicate of lenders in connec- tion with a US$110 million loan to oil and gas explora- tion and development company Indus Gas. UK-based TLT Solicitors, led by banking partner Richard McBride, advised the syndicate on the loan, which will provide fund- ing to develop Indus Gas discovery of a natural gas feld in Rajasthan. TLT instructed Amit Kumar and Sunando Mukherjee of Amarchand Mangaldas in Delhi and Graham Hall and Vicky La of Carey Olsen in Guernsey. The bor- rower did not instruct external lawyers and was repre- sented by internal adviser Vikas Agarwal. 5 Karnataka State Highways BOT annuity Value Principal law frm To be announced Singhania & Partners The Karnataka State Highways Implementation Project, which upgrades highways in the southern state with World Bank funding, has settled on a novel structure for future projects. The state government entity worked with Singhania & Partners to develop Indias frst build-operate- transfer (BOT) annuity documentation. The project covers the development of bidding documents for the grant of The operation and construction period run simultaneously, requiring inclusion of special fnancial provisions for safeguarding the lenders interests AG Karkhanis Partner India Law Services Cover story India Business Law Journal 41 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 concessions on design-build-fnance-operate-maintain- transfer bases using an annuity model based on World Bank procurement guidelines. Intellectual property Deals of the Year 1 UCB Farchim SA v Cipla Limited & others Value Principal law frms Not applicable Remfry & Sagar Singh & Singh In this case, which was part of a batch of six writ peti- tions, Delhi High Court in February held that an applicant has the right of an appeal if a patent application has been refused following a pre-grant opposition. Prior to this decision, the practice had been to agitate the order in a pre-grant opposition in a high court by fling writ petitions. This decision authoritatively held for the frst time that the order of the Patent Controller in a pre-grant opposi- tion refusing the application (thereby accepting the oppo- sition) is in fact an order under section 15 of the Patents Act, 1970, which is appealable before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. This interpretation is impor- tant and appreciated as the applicant has a fairer and better chance to agitate the issue before a specialized IP court as opposed to a restricted consideration in a gen- eral court in a writ petition, says Ashwin Julka, a partner at Remfry & Sagar in Gurgaon, which represented UCB Farchim. Pratibha Singh of Singh & Singh advised Cipla and the other parties. 2 Music Broadcasting v Phonographic Performance Value Principal law frms Not applicable Anand and Anand Luthra & Luthra Deals of the Year 2010 The winning infrastructure deals Deal Value Principal law frms GMRs sale of its InterGen stake to China Huaneng US$1.23 billion De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Houthoff Buruma Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom White & Case L&Ts new shipyard in Tamil Nadu US$750 million India Law Services Private equity investment in Asian Genco US$425 million Allen & Gledhill Appleby Boies Schiller & Flexner Davis Polk & Wardwell General Law Partners J Sagar Associates Lexygen Paul Weiss Shearman & Sterling WongPartnership Bank of Baroda-led loan to Indus Gas US$110 million Amarchand Mangaldas Carey Olsen TLT Solicitors Karnataka State Highways BOT annuity To be announced Singhania & Partners Deals are listed in order of value. The principal law frms that worked on each deal are listed alphabetically. LLS House, Plot No B-28 Sector 32 (Institutional Area) Gurgaon 122 001 India P: +91 124 2382202, +91 124 2382203 F: +91 124 4036823, +91 124 2384898 E: gpo@lls.in W: www.lls.in AdvocAtES PAtENt ANd trAdEmArk AttorNEyS (INdIA) EStABLISHEd:1983 Cover story India Business Law Journal 43 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 The l ong li cence-fee tussl e between radi o chan- nel s and Phonographi c Per formance ended wi th a recent verdi ct by the Copyri ght Board. Thi s li ti ga- ti on was i nsti tuted al most a decade ago by Musi c Broadcasting, which includes several radio channels, against Phonographic Performance. The radio channels had challenged the royalties demanded arguing they were unreasonable and exorbitant. The Copyright Board gave a well reasoned order keeping the interests of both parties in perspective by fxing the royalty rate as 2% of net advertising revenue. This order is a welcome relief for radio channels since music is an essential content for radio stations and current statutory restrictions limit content that can be aired by private stations considerably, says Pravin Anand, managing partner of Anand and Anand, who represented Music Broadcasting. Luthra & Luthra rep- resented Phonographic Performance. More widely, this arrangement fxed by the Copyright Board will also act as an impetus for private FM radio stations to enter the third phase of radio licensing, which aims at expansion of radio by penetration into smaller towns. 3 Qualcomms patent bundling Value Principal law frm Not applicable Nishith Desai Associates Qualcomm, a US-based wireless telecommunications research and development company, sought to submit a statement of the working of a patent in India for 500- plus patents in compliance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970. Until this case, the provisions of the Indian Patents Act related to the disclosure of the work- ing of patents only on an individual basis. Nishith Desai Associates provided an innovative solution which was accepted by the patent authorities in which the client did not have to submit individual patent data. The informa- tion relating to the bundle of patents was accepted as a whole, says partner Gowree Gokhale, who heads the IP practice at Nishith Desai Associates. We also registered two of their patent licensees with the patent offces for the same number of patents. Deals of the Year 2010 The most signifcant intellectual property disputes Dispute Value Principal law frms UCB Farchim SA v Cipla Limited & others Not applicable Remfry & Sagar Singh & Singh Music Broadcasting v Phonographic Performance Not applicable Anand and Anand Luthra & Luthra Qualcomms patent bundling Not applicable Nishith Desai Associates Toyotas IP action against Prius Auto Industries Not applicable Anand and Anand RAD & Partners Singh & Singh Heinzs trademark dispute with Stokely-Van Camp Not applicable Lall Lahiri & Salhotra Singh & Singh The principal law frms that worked on each dispute are listed alphabetically. This order is a welcome relief for radio channels Pravin Anand Managing Partner Anand and Anand LLS House, Plot No B-28 Sector 32 (Institutional Area) Gurgaon 122 001 India P: +91 124 2382202, +91 124 2382203 F: +91 124 4036823, +91 124 2384898 E: gpo@lls.in W: www.lls.in AdvocAtES PAtENt ANd trAdEmArk AttorNEyS (INdIA) EStABLISHEd:1983 Untitled-3 1 12/3/2010 7:09:16 PM Cover story India Business Law Journal 45 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 4 Toyotas IP action against Prius Auto Industries Value Principal law frms Not applicable Anand and Anand RAD & Partners Singh & Singh Delhi High Court passed an unusual order in the infringe- ment and passing-off action brought by the Japanese carmaker Toyota against Prius Auto Industries, a Delhi- based manufacturer of automotive parts, to protect its trademarks such as Toyota, Innova and Prius. An ex parte interim injunction had been granted in favour of Toyota, but was subsequently set aside in March 2010. Toyota had appealed against the order setting aside the ex parte injunction. The appellate bench took cognizance of the infringing use of Toyotas marks by the respondents and directed them to alter the existing product packaging, catalogue and advertisements. The respondents were directed to write the sentence vehicle and marks used for item identifcation only in a conspicuous and a con- sistent font as has been used for the other descriptive matter on their product packaging. The respondents were also directed to not write Genuine Accessories on their products without it being accompanied by of Prius Auto Industries. Anand and Anand represented Toyota. RAD & Partners initially represented Prius Auto Industries but was later replaced by Singh & Singh. 5 Heinzs trademark dispute with Stokely-Van Camp Value Principal law frms Not applicable Lall Lahiri & Salhotra Singh & Singh Stokely-Van Camp, an affliate of PepsiCo, registered the expression Rehydrate, Replenish, Refuel as a trademark in India in 2006 which it claimed it had been using in conjunction with its isotonic drink Gatorade worldwide. There was no evidence of use of the expres- sion in India. In February, Heinz introduced an isotonic drink under the trademark Glucon-D. The packaging stated that the drink Rehydrates fuids, Replenishes vital salts, and Recharges glucose. Stokely then sued Heinz Cover story India Business Law Journal 46 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 for trademark infringement before Delhi High Court. However, Justice Rajiv Shakdher came to the conclu- sion that the expression registered by Stokely is highly descriptive of isotonic drinks and therefore not a valid trademark. Stokely appealed to the division bench, which upheld the decision of the single judge. The appeal was accordingly dismissed. Maninder Singh and Pratibha M Singh of Singh & Singh represented Stokely, while Anuradha Salhotra of Lall Lahiri & Salhotra advised Heinz.
Disputes of the Year 1 Venture Global Engineering v Satyam Value Principal law frms Not applicable Lawyers Knit & Co Tuli & Co Rajat Taimni, the managing partner of the Mumbai offce of Tuli & Co, represented the plaintiff, Venture Global Engineering (VGE), in a successful Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that the deliberate concealment of material facts, which ought to have been disclosed before an arbitrator in an arbitration hearing, amounted to an act of fraud. VGE was able to amend its challenge to an award, so as to incorporate subsequent developments such as the fraud at Satyam. Tuli & Co instructed senior advocate KK Venugopal, while Satyams counsel, Bina Madahavan of Hyderabad-based Lawyers Knit & Co, instructed senior advocate Harish Salve. 2 Ferani Hotels dispute with Nusli Wadia Value Principal law frms Not applicable Bharucha & Co Doijode Associates Pepper Hamilton In December, Bombay High Court upheld industrialist Nusli Wadias role as the administrator of 240 hectares of real estate in the Mumbai suburb of Malad, which includes prime retail properties. Justice Roshan Dalvi dismissed a petition fled by Ferani Hotels, a company controlled by the Gopal Raheja group, seeking revocation and annulment of the order dated 30 November 2003 that authorized Wadia to continue to act as in black and white Legal advice Tuli & Co is an insurance driven commercial litigation practice and has working associations with firms in other Indian cities. Tuli & Cos approach is straightforward and informal. It provides clients with direct, uncomplicated, clear advice and recommendations, delivered in plain English. Core Practice Areas: Insurance & Reinsurance (non-contentious) Regulatory & Operational Advice Reviewing & Preparing Commercial Agreements Structuring Start-up Operations Product Development Coverage Issues Property Marine Financial Lines Reinsurance Life & Health Dispute Resolution Litigation Arbitration Alternative Dispute Resolution Corporate & Commercial Foreign Investment Entity Formation Joint Venture Agreements Regulatory Investigations ESTABLISHED 2000 NEW DELHI MUMBAI www.tuli.biz NEW DELHI Neeraj Tuli Senior Partner 148 Golf Links, New Delhi 110 003 T: +91 11 2464 0906 F: +91 11 2464 0904 MUMBAI Rajat Taimni Partner 513 Bonanza, Sahar Plaza Complex, MV Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400 059 T: +91 22 6725 5421 F: +91 22 6725 5422 For further information, please contact:
International Law Office 2010
Asia Pacific Legal 500 Tuli & Co, winner of the ILO Client Choice Awards 2010 for Insurance & Reinsurance India. Tuli & Co, the Number One law firm for Insurance in New Delhi and Mumbai in 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. Cover story India Business Law Journal 47 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 Deals of the Year 2010 The most signifcant disputes Dispute Value Principal law frms/lawyers Venture Global Engineering v Satyam Not applicable Lawyers Knit & Co Tuli & Co Ferani Hotels dispute with Nusli Wadia Not applicable Bharucha & Partners Doijode Associates Pepper Hamilton GHCL ESOP Trusts case against India Infoline Not applicable Khaitan & Co DBS Bank v Wockhardt Not applicable Juris Corp Majmudar & Co Singhi & Co Vimadalal & Co Court of Arbitration for Sports debut at the Commonwealth Games Not applicable Foleys List FoxMandal Little George Davies Nicholl Paskell-Mede Wertheim Becker The principal law frms that worked on each dispute are listed alphabetically. administrator of the estate of Eduljee Framroze Dinshaw. Ferani claimed that Wadias role as administrator ended with the death of Bachoobai Woronzow Dashkow, the sole survivor and sister of Eduljee Framroze Dinshaw, who origi- nally owned the land. Dalvi concluded that Ferani has failed to show any misconduct in administration on the part of the respondent (Wadia). Acting for Nusli Wadia, Shreekant Doijode of Doijode and Associates instructed senior advo- cate Fali Nariman. For Gopal Raheja of Ferani Hotels, Raju Subramanyam and Zubin Behramkamdin of Bharucha & Partners instructed senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi. James Rosener and Edward Watters of Pepper Hamilton acted as US counsel. 3 GHCL ESOP Trusts case against India Infoline Value Principal law frm Not applicable Khaitan & Co The GHCL ESOP Trust brought a criminal case under sec- tions 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, for crimi- nal breach of trust and cheating against India Infoline and its board of directors. Khaitan & Co, led by Ajay Bhargava in Delhi, filed quashing petitions, which were allowed by Delhi High Court. The trust had sought to buy shares back from India Infoline. However, on receipt of a cheque from the trust, India Infoline had instead sold the trusts shares to third parties, claiming it could do so because it was owed A very important legal issue relating to the concept of vicarious liability Rabindra Jhunjhunwala Partner Khaitan & Co Cover story India Business Law Journal 48 Deals of the Year December 2010/January 2011 past dues from other companies within the GHCL group. A very important legal issue relating to the concept of vicarious liability of a board of directors under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, was involved in this matter, says Rabindra Jhunjhunwala, a Mumbai partner at Khaitan & Co, which advised India Infoline. GHCL ESOP Trust, which was represented by advocate Rakesh Tiku, is appealing to the Supreme Court. 4 DBS Bank v Wockhardt Value Principal law frms Not applicable Juris Corp Majmudar & Co Singhi & Co Vimadalal & Co A Juris Corp team, led by partner H Jayesh, advised Singapore-based DBS Bank in relation to its claim against Wockhardt, an Indian pharmaceuticals major, in relation to unpaid loans made by DBS and two domes- tic Indian banks totalling US$18.275 million and Rs400 million. Juris Corp approached Bombay High Court with a winding-up action against Wockhardt. The court would have tested a corporate debt restructuring scheme formulated by the Reserve Bank of India for the frst time. However, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement, fnalized in January 2010. Wockhardt was advised by Majmudar & Co. Vimadalal & Co represented Kotak Mahindra Bank, while Singhi & Co advised ICICI Bank. 5 Court of Arbitration for Sports debut at the Commonwealth Games Value Principal law frms Not applicable Foleys List FoxMandal Little George Davies Nicholl Paskell-Mede Wertheim Becker The Court of Arbitration for Sports made its Indian debut at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and turned over an eligibility hearing within 24 hours. Arbitrators Henry Jolson, a queens counsel with the Foleys List group of barristers in Melbourne, Graeme Mew of Nicholl Paskell-Mede in Montreal, Mark Hovell of George Davies in London, Monty Hacker of Wertheim Becker in Johannesburg and Sangeeta Mandal of FoxMandal Little in Delhi formed a panel, heard the case and issued a fnding within a day. The case concerned a Norfolk Island lawn bowler who was deemed ineligible to compete at the games. g