Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Singapore Branch on the US$1.75 billion term and revolving loan facilities to Olam Treasury. The facilities will be used to refinance the existing loans and finance the working capital and general corporate funding requirements of the Olam Group. The interest margin on the financing is linked to the achievement of sustainability key performance indicators relating to renewable energy share, women farmers receiving livelihood support, and native and beneficial trees distributed in agroforestry programs. Partner Mark Hudspeth led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Allen & Gledhill has also advised DBS Group Holdings on the issue of US$750 million 5.479 percent notes due 2025 and US$750 million floating rate notes due 2025, under its US$30 billion global medium term note programme. Partner Glenn David Foo led the firm’s team in the transaction.
AZB & Partners has advised Qatar Investment Authority on the Rs92.78 billion (US$994.6m) acquisition by Qatar Holding of equity stake of Reliance Retail Ventures. Partners Ashwath Rau and Atreya Bhattacharya led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on September 6, 2023.
AZB & Partners has also advised Jefferies India, as the broker, on the Rs5 billion (US$60.5m) sale by Vaidhyanathan Vembu of equity stake in IDFC First Bank. Partners Varoon Chandra and Lionel D’Almeida led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on September 12, 2023.
Moreover, AZB & Partners has advised Schaeffler and Schaeffler India on the Rs1.42 billion (US$17m) acquisition by Schaeffler India of KRSV Innovative Auto Solutions (Koovers) from Koovers founders Mr Begur Sheshadri Sandeep, Mr Vinayak Basavaraju Yadathore and Mr Sathianarayanan Premkumar and other Koovers resident and non-resident individual and corporate shareholders. Partners Ashwath Rau, John Raghav and Ramya Suresh led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on September 8, 2023.
Baker McKenzie has advised Wolverine World Wide on the sale of the Hush Puppies trademarks, patents, copyrights and domains in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to Beijing Jiaman Dress. As part of the transaction, Wolverine and Jiaman entered into a license and cooperation agreement providing for mutual engagement and brand stewardship of the Hush Puppies brand in the region. Meanwhile, Wolverine will continue to own and operate the Hush Puppies brand throughout the rest of the world. M&A partner Tracy Wut, supported by partner Luis Zhang from FenXun in Shanghai, led the firm’s team in the transaction, which is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has advised Vivriti Capital, as the issuer, and JM Financial, as the lead manager, on the public issue of non-convertible debentures aggregating to Rs5 billion (US$60m). Partners Vijay Parthasarathi (southern region markets co-head), Meeta Kurpad and Rohit Tiwari led the firm’s team in the transaction, which closed on September 6, 2023.
JSA has assisted India Resurgence Fund (IndiaRF) on the Rs5.25 billion (US$63m) acquisition of a majority stake in Ivy Health and Life Sciences. IndiaRF is a leading India-focused investment fund, backed by Piramal Enterprises and Bain Capital Credit. Ivy Health operates a chain of multi-specialty hospitals certified by the National Accreditation Board of Hospitals & Healthcare Providers-in several cities of Punjab, namely Mohali, Amritsar, Khanna, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr. Partner Sidharrth Shankar, supported by partners Prakriti Jaiswal, Shraddha Krishnan Dash, Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Vaibhav Choukse, Ela Bali and Megha Saraf, led the firm’s team in the transaction, which marks IndiaRF’s maiden investment in the healthcare sector and the first of its kind in a regional hospital chain.
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas has advised KKR & Co on its follow-on investment in Reliance Retail Ventures (RRV). The transaction involved the US$250 million subscription of approximately 17.16 million RRV equity shares among RRV, Reliance Industries and KKR. With this investment, KKR’s shareholding in RRV has increased to approximately 1.42 percent. Partners Raghubir Menon (regional M&A and private equity head), Natashaa Shroff, Sakshi Mehra, Shiladitya Banerjee and Deepa Rekha, supported by partners Apoorva Murali and Harman Singh Sandhu, led the firm’s team in the transaction, while Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett acted as international counsel. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Reliance Industries and Reliance Retail Ventures.
Trilegal has represented the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on appeals before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against orders of the National Company Law Tribunal admitting certain stockbroking entities into insolvency under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC). As a first-level regulator of the securities market, the NSE contended that stockbroking entities fall within the definition of ‘financial service providers’ and, thus, are excluded from the purview of the IBC. It was further submitted that the mechanism under the IBC would be incompatible with the mechanisms already in place to deal with defaulting stockbroking entities, and initiation of insolvency proceedings against stockbroking entities would affect the interests of investors/public at large. The NCLAT’s landmark decision upholds NSE’s contention and settles the law on the issue that, since stockbroking entities are regulated by the SEBI (in conjunction with stock exchanges), provisions of the IBC would not be applicable to such entities. The NCLAT also observed that, since specific mechanisms are in place to deal with defaulting stockbrokers, insolvency proceedings cannot be initiated against such entities, unless there is a notification by the Central Government to this effect. Dispute resolution partner Shankh Sengupta, along with partner Shruti Rajan (financial regulatory), led the firm’s team in the matter.
TT&A is advising DFC on its loan facility, via external commercial borrowing, of up to US$9 million to Yulu Bikes. The proceeds of this loan will be utilized by Yulu to finance the purchase of approximately 20,000 electric bikes which it will deploy as rentals in India. Partners Gautam Saha and Pallavi Meena led the firm’s team in the transaction.
TT&A has also advised Embassy Office Parks REIT on its issuance of secured, listed and rated non-convertible debentures aggregating up to Rs5 billion (US$60m). The proceeds of the issue are proposed to be utilized primarily towards refinancing and/or prepayment of the issuer’s existing indebtedness. The debentures are to be secured inter alia via a charge over identified assets of the group. Partners Sonali Mahapatra and Nidhi Rani led the firm’s team in the director.
