India
The acceleration of the global economy has created tremendous business opportunities in India, perhaps more so than in any other emerging market. Domestic companies seeking to expand to outside markets – or international companies aiming to establish themselves in the region – need a global specialist firm with extensive local experience and practical commercial insights to successfully bridge the two.
An Established Practice
Our India practice has extensive experience structuring transactions and advising on the most complex legal matters involving Indian companies. Dechert’s diverse international team of lawyers includes several who are fluent in both English and Hindi. By combining regional knowledge of the complexities of individual markets and business with our top-ranked global transactional and disputes practices, we help clients achieve their strategic objectives around the world.
A Multicultural Approach
Our multicultural, multi-jurisdictional and multilingual lawyers advise Indian companies and foreign companies seeking to invest in India on a wide range of transactions, disputes and investigations across a variety of industries.
The acceleration of the global economy has created tremendous business opportunities in India, perhaps more so than in any other emerging market. Domestic companies seeking to expand to outside markets – or international companies aiming to establish themselves in the region – need a global specialist firm with extensive local experience and practical commercial insights to successfully bridge the two.
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Corporate
- Public Pension Capital (PPC), a New York private equity fund, on its acquisition of New Jersey-based Viteos Fund Services, a technology-driven provider of middle-office services for the alternative asset management industry. Founded by India-born chief executive Shankar Iyer, Viteos has operational hubs in the United States and a delivery center in Bengaluru, India. The transaction was rated a ‘Deal of the Year’ in 2017 by the India Business Law Journal.
- Air Liquide in its acquisition of subsidiaries in Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Pure Helium Holdings Limited.
- Apollo Health Street in its US$170 million acquisition of Zavata to become India’s largest healthcare outsourcing and IT company.
- Biocon in its strategic global agreement with Pfizer, Inc. for the worldwide commercialization of Biocon’s biosimilar versions of insulin and insulin analog products; also advised Biocon on its agreement with global pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb for Biocon’s IN-105, a prandial oral insulin product candidate.
- Citigroup Venture Capital in its US$593 million sale of its majority stake in Mumbai-based i-flex Solutions, Inc. to Oracle, handling the M&A aspects of the transaction as well as the tax, regulatory and other corporate law issues in the United States, India, Ireland and Germany to complete the deal.
- Darling Group, a Pan- African hair care firm, on its divestiture of 51% of its artificial hair manufacturing and distribution business in Kenya to India-based Godrej Consumer Products Limited.
- Elliott Associates in the US$3.5 billion acquisition and post- petition financing of auto-parts maker Delphi Corporation by a consortium of lenders, including Elliott Associates and Silver Point Capital, as well as General Motors; also oversaw the sale of Delphi’s steering business to General Motors in Australia, India, Japan and Korea.
- Tech Mahindra Limited, an Indian public company, in its US$240 million acquisition of 100% of the capital stock of Lightbridge Communications Corporation, one of the largest independent telecommunications services company in the world with a local presence in over 50 countries. The transaction represented Tech Mahindra’s largest U.S. acquisition to date.
- TopoTarget A/S on its agreement with U.S.-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to co-develop and commercialize belinostat, its flagship anticancer drug, in North America and India.
Private Fund Formation
- A large UAE-based conglomerate in the establishment of a series of DIFC and potentially Cayman-based funds. The first two funds will be based in the DIFC, with the first DIFC fund investing in India Real estate assets and the second targeting PE investments in the GCC and wider Middle East.
- A Shari’ah compliant investment manager on the formation of a new Islamic finance holding company and how to reflect joint funding in respect of Islamic mortgage business in Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia.
- An international alternative investment fund sponsor on the formation of a US$1 billion private equity fund focused on stressed, distressed and special credit opportunities in India.
- A large privately held oil and gas company based in the UAE with operations in Africa, India and the Middle East on establishing a DFSA-regulated exempt real estate fund within the Dubai International Financial Centre for investment into Indian real estate projects.
- A major private equity firm on its US$100 million investment in a leading Indian telecommunications company listed on the Luxembourg exchange and on its subsequent US$350 million equity and debt investments in an Indian steel major.
Government and Internal Investigations
- An Indian group acquiring a target company headquartered in the United States with global operations in the telecom industry, in connection with: potential liabilities of the target under applicable sanctions, export controls and anti-bribery laws; and applicability to the transaction of U.S. laws regarding national security reviews of foreign direct investment by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
- A global logistics provider in connection with allegations of corruption and the making of facilitation payments in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, India, China and the Middle East, including conducting an internal investigation, dealing with the consequential issues with key customers and assisting the client with its self-report to the relevant law enforcement agencies.
- A publicly traded U.S. high technology company in connection with sales by its Indian subsidiary to customers on U.S. government lists of restricted/prohibited parties due to non-proliferation concerns, resulting in the company voluntarily disclosing violations to U.S. government enforcement authorities and the negotiation of a settlement without monetary penalties.
- A U.S. company and its Indian subsidiary in an internal investigation involving corruption activities arising from the sale of medical products in India.
- A U.S. biometric company regarding allegations their Indian partner was making illicit payments in order to win Indian government contracts (from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)) in connection with the Indian national biometric ID project.
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Dechert’s India team has handled a variety of M&A transactions relating to India, including outbound investments for major Indian corporations and complex inbound acquisitions for several multinationals. We also have significant capital markets experience with various international and global equity and convertible bond offerings by Indian issuers.
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We handle fund formation across all major asset classes, fund domiciles and structures. Our lawyers advise on the merits of various fund structures and devise innovative structures that provide access to assets that might otherwise be unavailable. We also advise on U.S. investment advisor registration and compliance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and on other global funds compliance areas.
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Businesses operating in the global marketplace must make compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and other anti-corruption laws an integral part of their business planning. Our team includes many former federal prosecutors as well as former government regulators experienced with handling investigations.
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Clients rely on our global team for comprehensive representation in legal matters waged on many fronts. We have represented clients in many of the largest, most complex and far-reaching proceedings by numerous government agencies around the world. We are also among the world’s leading law firms in the conduct of internal investigations, and Dechert is frequently instructed by audit committees or other board committees.
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We have handled a number of important and extremely sensitive multi-jurisdictional and cross-border investigations involving corruption (governmental and commercial), accounting restatements, insider trading, money laundering, economic sanctions, export controls and cartel investigations.
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Our India team advises foreign and domestic clients on the CFIUS review process. We help determine whether to bring a transaction before the committee, assist with assembling materials for a voluntary filing and negotiate national security agreements to minimize the impact on a transaction. We also advise on how to address political and policy considerations.
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Compliance with economic sanctions and trade embargoes regimes requires awareness of more than the published guidance. Dechert regularly counsels clients on the scope, interpretation, application and jurisdictional nuances of the rules and the discretion exercised by enforcement authorities.
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Our India arbitration team can advise and represent clients in India-related commercial and investment treaty arbitrations. The team has extensive experience arbitrating disputes under the rules of all major arbitral institutions, and includes active members of the LCIA India and SIAC Users Councils, a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration, and an author of A Guide to the SIAC Arbitration Rules. Dechert’s arbitration lawyers appear as both counsel and arbitrators, and regularly advise clients (both investors and states) on disputes arising under investment treaties. Above all, the team prides itself on its ability to resolve complex disputes at an early stage in the process in order to keep costs to a minimum.
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Our tax lawyers combine in-depth knowledge of their own country’s tax regimes with a thorough understanding of the business tax systems of the major trading nations such as India and the ramifications for international and domestic transactions and structures.
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We advise clients worldwide on matters involving oil, gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal, nuclear, wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and other renewable energy sources. We have extensive experience advising on upstream, midstream and downstream operations, electricity generation and the provision of oil field or other energy and power services. We also represent companies that provide essential technology, services and products to the energy sector.