A plan by the Indian government to sell off stakes in state-owned companies has been good news for both international and local firms over the last year, with the latest transaction reaching US$2.2bn and reeling in French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel (GLN) and Indian firm Crawford Bayley.
The two firms acted for the Indian government on its divestment, through a public offer, of an 8.38% equity stake in the country’s largest iron-ore miner, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), which raised US$2.2bn for the state.
It was an important deal for GLN – which won the role as sole international counsel via a tender process – as it is one of the firm’s first Indian transactions. Lawyers in London, Dubai, Paris and Hong Kong coordinated the offering under the direction of London partner Chris Mead. Crawford Bayley acted as domestic counsel, led by capital markets partner Sanjay Asher.
“[Although we’ve been] present in India for a number of years, undoubtedly the NMDC transaction is by far the most high-profile the firm has been involved in,” said GLN’s Chris Mead. “We will be focusing our efforts to secure further work there over the coming months.”
This latest sale is part of a larger plan by the Indian government to partially privatise a number of state-owned companies in the next few years. So far, Amarchand & Mangaldas has reaped the most roles from the plan, acting on the US$1.8bn offering of a 5% stake in NTPC, the US$500m stake sell off of Oil India, as well as the approximately US$1bn IPO by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.
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