Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Founded in 2015 by Shardul Shroff, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is one of the leading law firms and a household name in the Indian legal market. The firm maintains offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Chennai and is one of the largest full-service firms in India.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is widely recognised for its top tier work across the financial and corporate space. In banking, the firm provides advice on matters such as acquisition finance, leveraged finance, real estate finance, debt restructuring and corporate lending.
The corporate and restructuring teams are experienced in advising an array of clients including acquirers, sellers, lenders issuers and borrowers.
The projects team acts for stakeholders across a wide variety of sectors including power, oil and gas, transport, infrastructure, telecommunication and utilities.
Key clients
Key clients of the firm include BNP Paribas, MUFG Securities, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise, Carlyle Funds, DBS Bank India, Think & Learn, Altico Capital India, Bain Capital Credit, One 97 Communications and PB Fintech.
Research period review: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
During the research cycle, the firm was active in banking and finance, capital markets, corporate M&A, private equity, projects, restructuring, and insolvency areas.
In the banking and finance space, the team kept busy advising cross-border debt financing, acquisition finance, financial restructuring, and related regulatory mandates across various industries for clients in Singapore, the United States, and Mauritius. Notable deals include advisuing Altico Capital India, one of India’s largest foreign-owned and controlled non-banking financial companies (“NBFC”) as the first successful NBFC resolution outside of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
In capital markets, the team was very active with high-profile domestic and overseas IPOs, right issues, portfolio sales, and bond note issuances often advised issuers. Notable deals include advising the listing of Paytm (One 97 Communications) - India’s biggest initial public offering - and Freshworks listing, which is one of the largest US IPOs by an Indian-founded company and is also the first Nasdaq listing by an Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.
The corporate team continued to be active in acquisitions and private equity buyouts and advised both buyers and sellers. The firm advised Biocon Biologics in relation to the alliance with Serum Institute of India, which is the first vaccine block strategic deal for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and one of the largest strategic vaccine deals in the world. Clients of the firm were across various industries including technology and telecommunications, sports, healthcare, consumer goods and services, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences.
In the project space, the firm was very active in advising energy and social infrastructure projects, particularly in transport, and involved in related acquisition works.
The firm was also busy advising companies on restructuring and insolvency and related mandates. It is worth mentioning the firm was involved in several companies related to the “dirty dozen”, which refers to 12 of the largest entities in corporate India against which banks have been asked to initiate bankruptcy proceedings by the RBI.
Deal highlights: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
Ares SSG Capital Management’s $27.5 billion acquisition of Altico Capital India
Biocon Biologics $1.285 billion strategic alliance with Serum Institute of India
Carlyle’s proposed $3billion acquisition of CA Magnum Holdings
Continuum Energy Levanter $561 million green bonds
CPPIB Canada acquisition of 10.09% stake in PG InvIT
Freshworks $1.03 billion NASDAQ IPO
PayU Payments’s $4.6 billion acquisition of 100% of the equity in IndiaIdeas.com
Paytm $2.4 billion NSE IPO
PB Fintech $766 million NSE IPO
Client Feedback: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
Restructuring
“Full-service firm providing high level advice across multiple practise areas and on complex issues. Availability and responsiveness are very good.”
“SAM team advised us through the entire process. They are detail oriented and have good understanding of local regulatory issues and legal framework.”
Veena Sivaramakrishnan
“Responsiveness and availability are excellent. Great at running complex matters with multiple stakeholders.”
“She has good understanding of the distressed assets space and legal framework. She also has perseverance for protracted negotiations.”
