Mergers and Acquisitions Archives

The Elephant in the Room: India’s Place in the International Investment Regime

Insights | September 19, 2022 | Practice Area: Litigation and Arbitration, Mergers and Acquisitions, Regulatory

On August 29, 2022, the Delhi High Court set aside an arbitral award from 2015 issued by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Antrix-Devas dispute. While the High Court’s verdict is being hailed as a significant win for the Indian government, it is also time that India became more proactive in global debates related to foreign investment and learnt how to avoid such defensive situations in the first place. This note discusses why India should start asserting itself as a key player in the international investment regime and identifies the areas in which it has been falling short in this regard, including, in particular, in respect of its corresponding dispute resolution system.

New Overseas Investments Regime in India

Insights | September 14, 2022 | Practice Area: Banking and Finance, General Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, Regulatory

On August 22, 2022, the Government of India notified the new regime for overseas investments by Indian entities and individuals. The new regime is a mixed bag of liberalizations, new restrictions and clarifications, and signals the revised thinking of the Reserve Bank of India in certain respects, particularly in relation to the scope of overseas investments and round tripping. This note discusses the changes introduced by the new regime and its impact on cross border transactions.

Renewed Spotlight on Material Adverse Effect Clauses following Covid-19 and the Musk-Twitter Dispute

Insights | August 29, 2022 | Practice Area: General Corporate, Litigation and Arbitration, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity

Material Adverse Effect (“MAE”) clauses are once again in focus with the recent Musk-Twitter dispute arising from the termination of the transaction related to the acquisition of Twitter on MAE grounds. This note discusses certain issues relating to MAE clauses from a practical perspective in an M&A setting and how these clauses have been interpreted by courts in the past.

Competition Amendment Bill, 2022: Key Changes to the Competition Act, 2002

Legal Updates | August 17, 2022 | Practice Area: Competition/Antitrust, Mergers and Acquisitions

On August 5, 2022, the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (the “Bill”), to amend the Competition Act, 2002 (the “Competition Act”), was introduced in the Indian Parliament. The timing of approval of the Bill, and its coming into effect, is uncertain at present. The Bill introduces certain new concepts into the field of Indian competition law, including Deal Value Thresholds, the changes to the definition of ‘control’, and mechanisms to settle certain violations of the Competition Act. It also provides for practical and much-needed updates to the Indian competition law regime, including relaxations for implementation of stock exchange purchases, proposed publication of guidelines for fines, and reduction of timeframes for the Competition Commission of India’s approval. This note provides detailed description of the changes proposed by the Bill.

Transactions involving IPL Franchises: Legal Due Diligence

Insights | July 29, 2022 | Practice Area: General Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Regulatory

With the recent auction and sale of media rights of the Indian Premier League (“IPL”) by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”) for over INR 480 billion (approximately USD 6 billion), IPL franchises are in the spotlight. Reports suggest that certain IPL franchise owners may look to capitalize on an improved valuation, and either sell a part (or all) of their shareholding in the legal entity that has bid for and owns the IPL franchise, or may even consider a public listing of such legal entity. In this note, we look at key legal due diligence issues that may arise in connection with transactions involving IPL franchises.

Private Equity in Sports Franchises in India

Insights | March 24, 2022 | Practice Area: General Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Regulatory

With the recent expansion of the IPL to include two new teams, CVC Capital Partners, a leading international private equity firm, acquired the Ahmedabad franchise – this is the first instance of a significant private equity investment in professional sports in India. We discuss the opportunities and potential challenges that lie ahead for private equity investment in sports franchises in the attached note.

Legal Considerations for Investments in Data Centres in India

Insights | March 16, 2022 | Practice Area: Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Regulatory, Technology Media and Telecommunications

With the continuing focus on digitisation accelerated by Covid lockdowns and rising demand for sustainability and green goals, there is an increase in activity relating to data centres for operators and investors as well as policymakers and regulators. In order to attract investment in data centres in India with a vision “to make India a global data centre hub”, the new Government policies intend to provide various incentives and exemptions to promote data centre industry growth. In the recent past, several multinational and domestic companies have set up data centres in India. Given the focus on data localization, there appears to be significant potential for growth for the data centres industry. In this background, the Government’s move to grant ‘infrastructure’ status to data centres and introduce a national data centre policy are welcome measures which will promote investments in data centres in India. In addition, two other policy initiatives announced in the budget speech which are expected to incentivize data centre investments are the 5G spectrum auction and the widening footprint of optical fibre.

An Alternative Approach to a Code of Conduct for the Committee of Creditors in an IBC Process

Insights | September 22, 2021 | Practice Area: Corporate Governance, Litigation and Arbitration, Mergers and Acquisitions, Restructuring and Insolvency

Recently the Standing Committee on Finance in a report placed before the Parliament on August 3, 2021 proposed a Code of Conduct for the Committee of Creditors in a corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Following such report, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has published a discussion paper on August 27, 2021 which includes, among other things, a draft Code of Conduct. This note considers an alternative approach for such a Code of Conduct.

The Videocon Insolvency Resolution Process: Is Reading Between the Lines Warranted?

Insights | August 5, 2021 | Practice Area: Corporate Governance, Litigation and Arbitration, Mergers and Acquisitions, Restructuring and Insolvency

By an order dated July 19, 2021, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (the “NCLAT”) stayed the operation of the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (the “NCLT”) which had approved a resolution plan in relation to the Videocon group. In staying the operation of the NCLT’s order, the NCLAT appears to have been influenced by the observations of the NCLT on two points, a substantial haircut and a breach of confidentiality. Apart from these two points, this note considers a possible shortcoming in the NCLT order in relation to treatment of dissenting creditors.

PNB Housing Finance: The (Missing?) Registered Valuer Report

Insights | July 8, 2021 | Practice Area: Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity

On June 15, we had written about a proposed preferential issue by PNB Housing Finance, in respect of which a proxy advisor issued a report asking public shareholders to vote against the proposed investment. As an alternative to a preferential issue, the report suggested that the company should have considered a “rights issue”. In our previous article, we considered a “rights issue” and a “preferential issue” from the perspective of certainty in funding, disclosure obligations, approvals and timelines and pricing.

The debate has since focused on whether the proposed preferential issue required a report of a registered valuer and whether such a report was in fact procured. In this article, we consider the legal framework around which the debate turns, comprising the SEBI ICDR Regulations, the Companies Act and PNB Housing Finance’s articles of association.