Overview

Deepak is amongst the leading practitioners in the Projects, Energy and Infrastructure practice area with a vast experience of over 17 years. He concentrates mainly on the project structuring, pre-development and implementation of the projects, project management during implementation stage, operations and maintenance and related aspects, with respect to projects in India or outside.

His practice varies from advising clients under the public private partnerships' framework, private arrangement or otherwise, in relation to any aspect of the project. He has also been actively involved in the M&A deals involving project companies, especially in renewable energy sector and advising clients on claims and demands arising out of concession/ construction/ development contracts and representing them at the appropriate forums.

Experience Statement

Port (including inland waterways)

• Acting for and advising Gujarat Maritime Board on various aspects, including but not limited to the following:
  • Issues arising out of the concession agreement (and its termination) for a floating dry dock project.
  • Issues arising out of the concession agreement awarded by it to Sterling Port Limited (as Concessionaire) for the implementation, operation and maintenance of the Dahej Port, Gujarat.

Nuclear Energy

• • Acting for and assisting Assystem Energy & Infrastructure (Juridique Groupe), a nuclear energy-based company (through Pinsent Masons) located in France, in the structuring for its proposed investment in India, project documents that it would enter into with the Indian Contractor (Reliance Infrastructure Limited), in relation to the proposed 9900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power project at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra.

Renewable Energy

• • Acting for and advising Accion Investment Management (Cayman) Limited on the acquisition of several wind power projects being implemented and operated by NuPower Renewables Limited in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Conventional Energy

• • Acting for and advising Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Company Limited) for the development of 5 X 800 MW of thermal power project in Mundra District, Gujarat.

Corporate (M&A and General Corporate)

• • Acting for and assisting Digital Domain Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong based listed company in setting up its India business and in obtaining various registrations, shifting of its registered office from one state to the other state.

Overview

Kartikeya is a Partner with the Banking & Finance Practice Group at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices. Kartikeya has been actively involved in advising domestic and foreign clients in the areas of project finance, corporate finance, debt restructuring, banking & finance regulations and external commercial borrowings. He represents both lenders and borrowers in financing transactions and has experience in sectors spanning airports, hospitals, manufacturing, road, power, renewable energy (wind and solar power) and technology services.

Experience Statement

• Advised L&T Financial Services Limited and different entities under it in relation to separate term loan facilities aggregating to approximately INR 1,701 Crores provided to 12 (twelve) special purpose vehicles set up by Essel Green Energy Private Limited for developing and implementing a total capacity of 365 MW solar power projects in the states of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
• Advised a consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India in relation to financial assistance for an amount of INR 16,000 Crores made available to Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited, for the purpose of part financing the cost of construction and development of three separate natural gas based urea manufacturing complexes with a total urea capacity of 11550 tons per day and ammonia capacity of 6600 tons per day, in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, Sindri Jharkhand and Barauni Bihar.
• Advised lenders led by Axis Bank Limited in relation to loan facilities aggregating to INR 1665,00,00,000 made available to Cavendish Industries Limited for the purpose of refinancing certain existing indebtedness availed by the company and in relation to certain working capital facilities aggregating to INR 400,00,00,000 made available to the Company.
• Advised a consortium of about 30 Indian and overseas banks, financial institutions, mutual funds and asset reconstruction companies led by Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited in relation to the structuring of the entire existing financial indebtedness of BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited aggregating to approximately INR 5,000 Crores into inter alia term loans, non-convertible debentures and compulsorily redeemable preference shares.
• Advised Bangalore International Airport Limited in relation to a term loan facility of INR 160 Crores availed by Bangalore International Airport Limited from a syndicate of banks led by ICICI Bank Limited for part financing certain capital expenditure in relation to the refurbishment of the existing terminal, forecourt improvements and realignment of terminal T1 of the Bengaluru International Airport.

Overview

Nishant is a Partner at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices India and specializes in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity & Venture Capital and Banking & Finance.

Nishant is admitted to practice law in India and the State of New York (USA). In the last 19 years, Nishant has worked on a wide array of equity and debt financing transactions across multiple sectors and countries. In the M&A space, he has worked on listed as well as unlisted company transactions including, public takeover, PIPE, going private, JV and minority or majority equity investments. As regards the debt investment, he advises on structured debt funding and re-structuring transactions.

Nishant also advises corporate houses and HNI’s in relation to investigations by government agencies like Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Economic Offence Wing for charges of bribery, money laundering, corporate fraud and various other offences and assists clients in formation of internal corporate policies and structures against anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-corporate fraud, whistleblowing, anti-sexual harassment, data privacy and cyber security.

His past international experience of working with the top tier law firms in San Francisco, New York and London offers his clients a distinctive approach and expertise on cross-border deals.

Experience Statement

• Advised American International Group Inc. in its sale of American Life Insurance Corporation to MetLife Inc. for USD 15.5 Billion.
• Advised Future Group, in relation to USD 5 Billion debt re-structuring of Future Retail Limited, Future Enterprises Limited, Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited, Future Consumer Limited, Future Supply Chain Solutions Limited, and other unlisted companies for all outstanding debt owed to 28 Indian banks-consortium under the resolution framework for COVID-19-related stress announced by the Reserve Bank of India.
• Advised Novo Holdings A/S to acquire majority stake in Manipal Health Enterprises for USD 3.6 Billion alongside investors Temasek, The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and TPG Asia.
  • The transaction is a part of the largest private equity deal in the Indian healthcare sector.
• Represented Pocket Aces Pictures Private Limited, through its board of directors (‘Pocket Aces’), and its founders, Aditi Shrivastava, Ashwin Suresh and Anirudh Pandita, in relation to its acquisition by Saregama India Limited (‘Saregama’), a subsidiary of RP-Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG) Group. Saregama will initially acquire 51.8% shares in Pocket Aces, with the subsequent acquisition of another ~41% stake in next 15 months at pre-agreed multiples. The transaction is an all-cash deal.
  • The deal was listed as one of the top 10 mergers and acquisitions deals.
• Advised Orange S.A., a listed company, in relation to its acquisition of Bharti Airtel Limited’s (a listed company) offshore subsidiaries in two African countries (Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone) for approx. USD 1 Billion.
• Advised Agritrade Resources Ltd., a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in relation to acquisition of SKS Power Generation (Chhattisgarh) Limited through a One Time Settlement of USD 350 Million approx.for all outstanding debt to State Bank of India, L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited and PTC (India) Financial Services Limited.
• Advised Engie Solar SAS and Electro Solaire Private Limited, in a project financing for an amount of USD 100 Million approx.availed from the Asian Development Bank and Société Générale for setting up a 2x 100MW AC grid-connected solar PV project in Raghanesda Solar Park, Gujarat.
• Advised IndoStar Capital Finance, a listed company, in relation to Brookfield Asset Management’s acquisition of 40% stake for INR 1225 Crore through a mix of primary and secondary shares from Everstone Capital, infusion of capital in IndoStar Capital Finance, and public shareholders under the Takeover Code.
• Advised Cipla Limited, in relation to its acquisition of brand rights to market derma and cosmeceutical products manufactured by Percos India.
• Advised Reliance Jio, in relation to its acquisition of properties related to telecom towers from Reliance Communications.
• Advised NewQuest Capital Partners, in relation to its acquisition of a minority stake in Kids Clinic India Private Limited (operating as Cloudnine chain of hospitals), through a combination of a primary investment and acquisition of secondary stake from existing investors and other shareholders in Cloudnine.
• Advised Pharmarack Technologies, in relation to its 92% acquisition by ABCD Technologies LLP, a digital health firm backed by Sun Pharma, Lupin, Cadilla Healthcare and Torrent.

Overview

Purvi Dabbiru is a Partner with the Banking & Finance and Project Finance Practice Group at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices India. Having over 11 years of experience in this space, Purvi specializes in rendering advisory and legal assistance in the fields of banking and finance, project finance and debt restructuring space.

Her expertise ranges across sectors including ports, roads, power, renewables, real estate and manufacturing, and with expertise in wide range of financial products, including fund based and non-fund based facilities, private placements of debentures and external commercial borrowings. Having advised various stakeholders including lenders, borrowers, sponsors and guarantors, Purvi has an all-round approach in structuring transactions and negotiating documentation.

Experience Statement

• Advised Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Private Limited (wholly owned subsidiary of PSA International PTE Limited) and PSA International PTE Limited, in relation to an external commercial borrowing (ECB) facility aggregating to approximately SGD 630 Million and certain hedging facility, provided by DBS Bank Limited.
• Assisted Nordic Investment Bank in relation to the facility of SEK 607,000,000 and EUR 8,600,000 provided to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited by Nordic Investment Bank for the purpose of part financing of a project of the company in India consisting of construction of a HVDC multi-terminal system package. 
• Advised Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (United Kingdom) in connection with financial assistance in the form of an ECB facility aggregating to approximately USD 31 Million, to a company (confidential) developing, implementing and setting up a 100 MW (AC) solar power project including the transmission line.
• Advised Rajasthan Sun Technique Energy Private Limited, a company promoted by Reliance Power Limited, in connection with the financing, involving inter alia foreign currency facility and rupee term loans, for the development and operation of a 100 MW concentrating solar generation power plant at Rajasthan, with a project cost envisaged at approximately USD 410 Million.
• Acted for a consortium of lenders viz. Axis Bank Limited, Aseem Infrastructure Finance Limited and NIIF Infrastructure Finance Limited in relation to the financial assistances aggregating up to INR 17.799 Billion made available to four separate SPVs (forming part of the Actis Group) for the purpose of, inter alia, refinancing their existing debt with respect to their respective solar power projects in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Suprio’s career spans over 30 years, in diverse settings. He started his career with United Nations before moving to academics, then in-house and finally transitioned to private practice from general counsel practice of more than 2 decades.

Suprio’s focus areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, general corporate and commercial matters, intellectual property, technology, media & telecommunication, labour & employment, ESG, real estate, anti-corruption & compliance, data privacy and litigations/dispute resolution for clients across the sectors such as pharmaceuticals, life sciences, healthcare, technology, media, entertainment, telecommunication, energy and real estate, etc.

Experience Statement

• Advised Board of the listed companies of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Schneider Electric India, Honeywell JVs in India.

• Advised Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in M&A and business deals with Wockhardt, UCB, Astra Zeneca, etc and Securities Class Action, Anti-trust litigation and Pricing litigations in the USA and India.

• Advised Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals in pharma statutory compliances, FCPA compliances and data privacy compliances.

• Advised Glenmark Pharmaceuticals in prosecution matters with the Dept. of Justice, USA and IP class actions in USA.

• Advised Schneider Electric in power and renewable energy projects both in utility and solar sectors.

• Advised Honeywell in SEZ related matters, real estate deals, global integration in various acquisitions and technology transfer to NAL and other aerospace commercial deals.

• Advised GE and Honeywell in cross border IP transactions, technology transfer, patent protection, licensing, anti-counterfeit strategy & actions and statutory compliances.

• Advised the Government of India in legislative drafting, profit sharing model for CSIR laboratories, IITs and IISc.