Talwar Thakore & Associates > Mumbai, India > Firm Profile
Talwar Thakore & Associates Offices
3RD FLOOR, KALPATARU HERITAGE
127 M G ROAD FORT
MUMBAI 400 001
India
Talwar Thakore & Associates > The Legal 500 Rankings
India > Banking and finance Tier 1
Clients from a variety of backgrounds come to Talwar Thakore & Associates for advice on a range of financing transactions, including structured finance, project finance, equity finance, mezzanine finance, and securitisation mandates. The team has particular expertise in domestic and cross-border fundraisings and acquisition finance transactions. Sonali Mahapatra has longstanding experience in handling debt restructuring and debt capital markets work; she jointly heads up the team with Gautam Saha, who regularly advises international and domestic lenders in India. Rituparno Bhattacharya focuses on the areas of asset finance securitisation and trade finance, while Nidhi Rani is experienced in acting for lenders on structured and leveraged finance deals. Pragya Sood, Ambarish Mohanty and Tanay Agarwal are other key contacts.Practice head(s):
Sonali Mahapatra; Gautam Saha
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Talwar Thakore & Associates’ banking and financing team is our go-to for complex and structured financing deals. Their ability to pull off complicated and heavy deals with practised ease and clinical efficiency makes them a strong proposition in the Indian legal market. Sonali Mahapatra and Rituparno Bhattacharya are strong partners with wonderful commercial sense, legal knowledge, and relevant market knowledge. The associate quality is strong, and their documentation is on par with most international law firms.’
‘The team is a very knowledgeable and has exceptional work ethics.’
‘The team is very responsive and gives commercial and practical advice that reflects the requirements of the transaction.’
‘Ambarish Mohanty is excellent.’
Key clients
Asian Development Bank
ADM Capital
Ares SSG
Avendus
Bank of America
Barclays
BNP Paribas
Citibank
Deutsche Bank
Embassy REIT
Farallon Capital
Goldman Sachs
HSBC
J P Morgan
Morgan Stanley
Nayara Energy
Nomura
Standard Chartered Bank
Tor Investment Management
Blackrock
Export Development Canada
International Finance Corporation
M&G Plc
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
Work highlights
- Advised Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited on two loan facilities and a note issuance aggregating to $5.3bn.
- Advised HSBC, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank on a term loan facility of up to $1.2bn availed by an offshore subsidiary of Biocon Biologics Limited.
- Assisted ADB with its term loan facility of up to $131m to Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal Private Limited, an equal joint venture between J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Ltd and CMA Terminals.
India > Antitrust and competition Tier 2
Talwar Thakore & Associates' practice has solid expertise in handling merger control mandates, often appearing before the CCI. The client roster includes prominent companies in the digital markets and healthcare sectors; in a notable highlight, the firm represented Match in its complaint against Google for anti-competitive conduct in relation to in-app payments. Practice head Sonam Mathur handles the full gamut of competition law issues, including cartel investigations, abuse of dominance allegations, and complex merger control matters. Dinoo Muthappa, who was promoted to the partnership in April 2023, advises domestic and international clients in the financial services, automobiles, consumer goods and media sectors. Managing associate Shubhang Joshi is also a key name to note.Practice head(s):
Sonam Mathur
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The team is very energetic and responsive. They constantly keep the client informed and involved.’
‘Very easy to work with.’
Key clients
Match Group
Heraeus Group
Linde plc
HSBC Group
Generali Group
Syngenta
Spotify
PepsiCo
Sanofi
Roche
Orix Corporation
American Tower Corporation
The Economist
ResMed
Disney-Star
Carrier
Work highlights
- Acting for Match in bringing a claim of alleged anti-competitive conduct against Apple, concerning the policies of the latter’s App Store.
- Assisted Carrier and Viessmann HoldCo with the competition law aspects of the acquisition of Viessmann Climate Solutions SE and its subsidiaries by Carrier, as well as the acquisition of a minority shareholding in Carrier by Viessmann HoldCo.
India > Corporate and M&A Tier 2
Representing clients from across the renewables, pharma, and fintech sectors, Talwar Thakore & Associates is highly regarded for providing end-to-end advisory and transaction support on corporate and M&A matters. The firm shows considerable strength on the whole spectrum of corporate issues, including joint ventures, private equity investments, and demergers, with New Delhi-based joint managing partner Gautam Saha frequently advising Indian corporates, multinationals, and PE funds. From Mumbai, Kunal Thakore co-heads the group, specialising in corporate restructurings and delistings, whilst Feroz Dubash is an expert on public and private acquisitions.Practice head(s):
Gautam Saha; Kunal Thakore
Other key lawyers:
Feroz Dubash; Sachin Mehta; Amrita Patnaik; Dushyant Bagga; Neville Golwalla; Deepa Christopher
Testimonials
‘In-depth knowledge, ability to understand a client’s business and provide tailored relevant advice.’
‘Gautam Saha is an extremely sharp and practical lawyer and has the ability to grasp issues very quickly and provides solution-oriented advice.’
‘The response time of the team is very impressive. Also, while legal solutions, the team tries to give a practical advice which is very important for in-house counsels.’
‘Have worked with Gautam Saha and truly impressed with his practical solution-oriented approach. While rendering advise he does take into consideration the business realities of the client and advises accordingly.’
Key clients
Adecco
ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited
Atlas Copco
AXA
Bajaj Auto Limited
Bharti Group
Brookfield Group
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Dabur Limited
Dalmia Bharat Refractories Limited
DSP Investment Managers Private Limited
Epiroc
Generali Group
Genworth Financial Inc.
Health Care at Home
HSBC Corporation
Johnson & Johnson
Madison Group
Nokia Group
Norfund
ORIX Corporation
Sanofi Group
STEAG Group
Sunlife Financial
Trafigura
Vedanta Limited
Work highlights
- Advised HSBC on its acquisition of L&T’s mutual fund business.
- Advised ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited (“ATC”) in its investment of USD 196 million in Vodafone Idea Limited (“VIL”) towards subscription of up to 16,000 unsecured, unrated, unlisted, optionally convertible debentures in one or more tranches, which are convertible into equity shares at a conversion price of Rs. 10 per equity share.
- Advised Dabur India Limited in its proposed purchase of 100% of the share capital of the Badshah Masala Private Limited from its shareholders by way of (i) purchase of 51% share capital of the Company from certain existing shareholders in the first instance (“First Tranche Acquisition”); and (ii) purchase of the remaining 49% stake, subsequently, based on timelines agreed between parties (“Second Tranche Acquisition”).
India > Capital markets Tier 3
Talwar Thakore & Associates is particularly strong in debt capital market transactions and structured finance matters, and acts for a diverse range of domestic and overseas clients on securities laws, foreign exchange regulations and derivatives. Rahul Gulati leads the department and has significant experience in assisting banks and issuers with all kinds of debt offerings, while Priyanka Kumar stands out for her work on international co-issuer structures and dual-level bond issuance structures.Practice head(s):
Rahul Gulati; Priyanka Kumar
Testimonials
‘The team is professional, sophisticated and able to handle the most complicated of issues under intense time pressure.’
‘Both Rahul Gulati and Priyanka Kumar provide outstanding advice. It is commercial, actionable and informed, enabling parties to agree and complete the transactions.’
‘Technically outstanding and extremely responsive and client-oriented.’
Key clients
Apollo Global Management LLC
Credit Suisse
Barclays Bank PLC
Deutsche Bank AG
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
J.P. Morgan
Ares Infrastructure Debt Asia
Standard Chartered Bank
SMFG India Credit Co. Ltd. (formerly known as Fullerton India Credit Co. Ltd.)
Work highlights
- Advised the investors on the issuance of USD senior secured floating rate notes by Continuum Energy Aura Pte. Ltd.
- Assisted the initial purchasers with the issuance and sale of $400m 7.95% Senior Notes due 2026 by Diamond II Limited, the issuer, and guaranteed by ReNew Energy Global plc.
- Advised investors and SBICAP Trustee Company Limited on the issuance of up to senior, secured, rated, listed, redeemable, non-convertible debentures.
India > Fintech and financial services regulatory Tier 3
Talwar Thakore & Associates is known in the market for advising financial institutions and fintech companies on payment systems, the clearing and settlement of securities and exchange traded derivatives. Practice head Rahul Gulati has worked extensively on mandates relating to the structuring of OTC derivatives in the Indian market. Deepa Christopher has specific expertise relating to data privacy and data collection matters. Neville Golwalla has longstanding experience of advising on court approved restructurings in the fintech arena. Ritika Singal is a further key contact at the firm.Practice head(s):
Rahul Gulati
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Ritika and team have been very helpful in ensuring that we meet our deadlines.‘
Key clients
PayU Payments Private Limited
Futures Industry Association (“FIA”)
Bank of America, N.A.
Global Financial Markets Association
Work highlights
- Advised Bank of America, N.A. in relation to the rules and regulations applicable to numerous payment and settlement systems in India.
- Assisted PayU Payments Private Limited with its application for a payment aggregator licence to the Reserve Bank of India.
- Advising the Futures Industry Association on a quarterly basis in relation to the clearing and settlement rules of two Indian central counterparties.
India > Insurance Tier 3
The insurance team at Talwar Thakore & Associates is equipped to advise a varied client base on a broad range of regulatory and transactional issues. Practice co-heads Kunal Thakore (Mumbai) and ‘exceptional’ Deepa Christopher (Bengaluru) both have demonstrable experience in corporate restructurings, M&A and private equity investments in the insurance arena. In a notable development, a trio of partners joined the New Delhi office from AZB & Partners in August 2022, including Gautam Saha, Dushyant Bagga and Swati Chauhan.Practice head(s):
Kunal Thakore; Deepa Christopher
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘They are invested in their clients and will do everything to get the deal done.’
‘Deepa Christopher is exceptional in getting a deal through difficult times.’
Key clients
Generali Participations Netherlands N.V.
AXA
Rampart Trust
Sun Life Group
HSBC
IRICBS
Standard Chartered Bank
Work highlights
- Advised Generali Participations Netherlands on increasing its stake in Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited from 49% to 70%.
- Advised Generali Participations Netherlands on increasing its stake in Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited from 49% to 74%.
- Advising Rampart Trust on matters arising from the sale of its shareholding in Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Limited to its existing joint venture partner, Marsh International Holdings, Inc. to enable MIH to move from 49% to 91%.
India > Projects and energy Tier 3
At Talwar Thakore & Associates, the practice has vast expertise in handling instructions from the oil and gas, mining, and infrastructure sectors. The team fields deep knowledge of the Indian regulatory landscape and complex project development matters. New Delhi-based practice head Gautam Saha, an expert in M&A and private equity transactions, re-joined the firm from AZB & Partners in August 2022. Feroz Dubash specialises in joint ventures, Pallavi Meena is experienced in handling cross-border project financings, and Dushyant Bagga advises on all aspects of corporate and commercial matters. The team is further boosted by Akshay Malhotra (partner) who joined in July 2023.Practice head(s):
Gautam Saha
Other key lawyers:
Feroz Dubash; Pallavi Meena; Dushyant Bagga; Ambarish Mohanty; Akshay Malhotra
Key clients
Asian Development Bank
National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF)
Aseem Infrastructure Limited
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO) and Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (Proparco)
KNI India AS (KNI)
Dalmia Bharat Refractories Limited
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
ATC Telecom
STEAG Group
RWE
Trafigura
Work highlights
- Assisted Asian Development Bank with a term loan facility up to USD 131,000,000 issued to Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal Private, a joint venture company involved in upgrading, operating and maintaining the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal.
- Advised NIIF on a primary equity investment of INR 6.31 billion in GMR Goa International Airport, a special purpose vehicle for the running and operation of the new Goa airport.
- Assisted DFC with an unfunded guarantee of up to US$ 10 million issued to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India, under the regulations of the ECB Master Directions, concerning loans to be issued to Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Private and PRES Oorja Private for the construction of briquetting biomass plant projects.
India > TMT Tier 4
Talwar Thakore & Associates‘ TMT practice has expanded considerably of late under the leadership of Gautam Saha and Sachin Mehta. It advises on the gamut of complex M&A, corporate, financing and restructuring issues for an impressive range of technology, media and telecoms clients. On the media front it assists clients with broadcasting and media rights contracts, advertising guidelines and sponsorships together with expertise in data protection/data transfer matters. Amrita Patnaik and Deepa Christopher are two of the key team members.Practice head(s):
Gautam Saha; Sachin Mehta
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The teams’ experience with a variety of clients is useful’
‘Gautam Saha is a lawyer who I have worked with for many years across different organisations that I have been associated with and find him commercially savvy and well versed in most matters that we reach out to him for.’
‘I mainly deal with Deepa Christopher. She is excellent – knowledgeable, pragmatic and commercial. ’
Work highlights
India > Private equity and investment funds Tier 6
Gautam Saha leads the team at Talwar Thakore & Associates and provides ‘sound judgment’ on cross-border equity financing and private equity investments across the telecoms, infrastructure, financial services and healthcare sectors. Sachin Mehta is noted for his expertise in the telecoms and technology arenas, Amrita Patnaik focuses on private equity and venture capital investments, with experience in handling domestic and cross-border equity transactions. The team 'offers a strong combination of knowledge with a pragmatic and commercial approach'.Practice head(s):
Gautam Saha
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The team offers a strong combination of knowledge with a pragmatic and commercial approach. They have a good understanding of the priorities and objectives of foreign institutional, private equity and venture capital investors.’
Key clients
WestBridge Capital
Sequoia
Courtside Ventures
A91 emerging Fund II
KNI India AS
National Infrastructure and Investment
Asian Development Bank Ventures
Asia Debt Management Hong Kong Limited
International Finance Corporation (“IFC”)
Treeline Investment Management
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. and Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) S.A
I Squared Capital
Brookfield
Asian Development Bank
Work highlights
- Advised (i) WestBridge AIF I along with co-investors MMPL Trust and Konark Trust (“WestBridge Capital”); (ii) Info Edge (India) Limited (“Info Edge”); (iii) Asha Edu Tech LLP along with JM Financial & Investment Consultancy Services Private Limited (“Asha”) in consolidation of their stake in the Metis Eduventures Private Limited through preferential allotment of Series B Preference Shares.
- Advised National Investment and Infrastructure Fund in primary equity investment of INR 6.31 billion in the form of Compulsory Convertible Debentures in GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a special purpose vehicle to run and operate the new Goa airport.
- Advised A91 Emerging Fund II LLP (“A91”) in connection with its investment into Muhavra Enterprises Private Limited, a speciality coffee brand startup which principally operates under the popular brand name “Blue Tokai”. A91 acted as the lead investor in the $30 Mn Series B funding round of the Company.
Talwar Thakore & Associates > Firm Profile
TT&A is a leading Indian law firm and has earned a reputation for providing balanced, nuanced and pragmatic advice to clients in demanding and interesting transactions. We are recognised for delivering original solutions with a holistic approach and executing complex matters in all practice areas. We pride ourselves on our collegiate and professional workplace and helping our people grow in a friendly and stimulating environment. We are delighted that Gautam Saha and his team including 11 partners have joined us in August 2022. With Gautam now leading the Delhi NCR office, it will significantly boost our corporate and banking practice.
Below are the practice areas and sectors we have expertise in:
- Banking and finance
- Capital markets
- Competition and antitrust
- Compliance
- Corporate and commercial
- Corporate governance
- Data protection
- E-commerce, fintech, blockchain and cryptos
- Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
- Inbound investment
- Infrastructure
- Insurance and reinsurance
- Joint ventures
- Labour and employment
- Licensing and franchising
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Outbound investment
- Power and energy
- Private equity, venture capital and funds
- Project finance
- Restructuring and insolvency
- Risk management
- Securitization and structured finance
- Technology, media and telecommunications
- Transport and logistics
Our clients are Indian corporates and multinationals, financial sponsors, private equity firms, venture capital providers, banks, financial institutions, multilateral and development financial institutions, funds and fintech players and our experience spans a broad range of Industry sectors including telecoms, technology, pharmaceutical, FIG, insurance, energy, infrastructure, consumer, fintech and e-commerce.
We see ourselves as long-term partners and trusted advisors to all our clients. We also take pride in being an open, collegiate and professional workplace and remain committed to helping our people grow in a friendly and stimulating environment.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate and M&A, Healthcare | Feroz Dubash | feroz.dubash@tta.in | +91 22 6613 6932 |
| Banking and Finance | Sonali Mahapatra | sonali.mahapatra@tta.in | +91 22 6613 6988 |
| Capital Markets, Finance and Regulatory | Rahul Gulati | rahul.gulati@tta.in | +91 22 6613 6938 |
| Corporate and M&A; Banking and Finance; Healthcare | Gautam Saha | gautam.saha@tta.in | +91 11 4629 9951 |
| Corporate and M&A; Insurance; Healthcare | Kunal Thakore | kunal.thakore@tta.in | +91 22 6613 6961 |
| Banking and Finance | Rituparno Bhattacharya | rituparno.bhattacharya@tta.in | +91 22 6613 6936 |
| Corporate and M&A | Sachin Mehta | sachin.mehta@tta.in | +91 11 4629 9960 |
| Corporate and M&A | Amrita Patnaik | amrita.patnaik@tta.in | +91 11 4629 9955 |
| Corporate and M&A | Dushyant Bagga | dushyant.bagga@tta.in | +91 11 4629 9952 |
| Insurance | Deepa Christopher | deepa.christopher@tta.in | +91 22 6613 6943 |
| TMT | Neville Golwalla | neville.golwalla@tta.in | +91 22 63196990 |
| Antitrust and Competition | Sonam Mathur | sonam.mathur@tta.in | +91 11 4629 9992 |
| Banking and Finance | Pallavi Meena | pallavi.meena@tta.in | +91 11 4629 9957 |
Staff Figures
Partners : 26 Lawyers : 100Languages
English (fluent) Hindi and other Indian languagesNotable Cases
- HSBC on its acquisition of L&T AMC, the largest in India’s asset management industry;
- Structuring banks in relation to an USD 1.7 billion financing for Goswami Infratech Private Limited, a promoter group entity of the Shapoorji Pallonji group for refinancing of existing debt and group funding requirements. This was the largest private placement of debentures by a non-investment grade issuer;
- The arrangers on the acquisition financing to Adani Group for its acquisition of Holcim, the largest acquisition financing transaction for an Indian acquisition to date;
- One of the largest foreign acquisitions at USD 12.9 billion by Rosneft of Essar Oil Limited;
- The Tata Group on its USD 2.7 billion successful acquisition of Air India along with Air India’s shareholding interest of 100% in Air India Express Limited and Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited, the first complete disinvestment of a public sector undertaking for 18 years*;
- The joint lead managers in the first dual-tier note issuance structure from India by the Greenko Group;
- The joint lead managers in the first co-issuer structure in India by certain subsidiaries of Renew Power Ltd.;
- The largest rupee bond issuance for a leveraged buyout for Nirchem Cement for its acquisition of Lafarge India;
- National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (“NIIF”) in primary equity investment of INR 6.31 billion in GMR Goa International Airport Limited; and
- Linde AG on its merger with Praxair Inc and the implementation of the divestment and remedies imposed by CCI to allow the creation of the largest industrial gas company in the world.
- The Match Group on its complaint against Google Inc and Apple in relation to its in-app payment processing service.