"Nithya Partners has the pedigree of working with domestic banking interests and international banking clients as well. The firm is very aggressive and is very much looked upon as a go-to firm for financial market legal advice," says a client....
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"Nithya Partners has the pedigree of working with domestic banking interests and international banking clients as well. The firm is very aggressive and is very much looked upon as a go-to firm for financial market legal advice," says a client. It retains a high-profile and lofty position in this year's rankings amid such outpouring of praise from both peers and clients.
A highlight on the capital markets side was the firm's representation of the joint lead managers Bank of America Securities, HSBC and RBS in a Rule144A/Reg S bond offering by the government of Sri Lanka. Partner Naomal Goonewardena was part of the team on this transaction, which is reported as the largest bond offering by the government. The transaction was completed in October 2010 and valued at $1 billion.
A client recommends the firm: "The lawyers are accessible and responsive. We haven't called them in the night yet, but we sometimes give them projects on tight timelines and they've always turned it around for us."
The firm advised Leige Capital, acting as the arrangers, on a securitisation of lease receivables by Peoples Leasing Company. The team led by Goonewardena worked on extensive negotiations between the parties as well as drafting and executing all documentation. This has been reported as one of the largest securitisation transactions in Sri Lanka, valued at SLR2.1 billion ($19 million) and completed in March 2011.
Clients recommend the firm for specific expertise: "We work with all the firms in the country, depending on the product. For more structured work, and loans or syndicated loans, we prefer this firm."
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