India

We are pleased to announce that Argus Partners successfully represented the Liquidator for M/s Concast Steel and Power Ltd. before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in a significant judgment addressing the inclusion of leasehold rights in a Corporate Debtor's liquidation estate. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., holding that leasehold rights transferred through an approved amalgamation scheme constitute intangible assets of the Corporate Debtor and can be included in the liquidation estate. The judgment clarified that NCLT/NCLAT possess jurisdiction to determine whether assets form part of the liquidation estate, that implied consent can be inferred from conduct and correspondence, and that the bar under Section 36(4)(a)(iv) does not apply to leasehold rights owned by the Corporate Debtor. The Liquidator was represented by Soorjya Ganguli and Pooja Chakrabarti [Partners], Kiran Sharma [Principal Associate (Designate)], and Anand Amit [Associate].

We are pleased to announce that Argus Partners advised Tata Steel Limited on its acquisition of BlueScope’s stake in the Joint Venture Tata BlueScope Steel. Over the last two decades, Tata BlueScope Steel has emerged as a world class products and solutions company for coated steel products in India. The acquisition is part of Tata Steel’s broader strategy to focus on downstream business in the flat products segment. The team at Argus Partners advising Tata Steel was led by Adity Chaudhury (Partner); and comprised Ankur Arora (Partner) assisted by Milind Anand, Anoushka Mani and Suvanwesh Das (Associates). Armaan Patkar (Partner) advised on securities law aspects of the deal. Read more at: Hindu BusinessLine

DMD Advocates is advising Aavishkaar Capital, a leading impact investment firm, on its partnership with Jamwant Ventures for the launch of a ₹500 crore defense technology fund aimed at fostering innovation and self-reliance in India’s defense sector. The newly launched fund, Jamwant Ventures Fund 2, will focus exclusively on deep tech with defense use cases, including new materials, autonomous systems (such as drones and underwater robotics), cybersecurity, sensors, and communication technologies. The partnership brings together Jamwant Ventures’ domain expertise, founded by retired naval officers with deep operational expertise, and Aavishkaar Capital’s institutional investment acumen, creating a unique platform dedicated to scaling indigenous defense technologies.   The DMD team is being led by Pallavi Puri (Partner), along with Aishwarya Gupta (Senior Associate) and Arnav Mithal (Associate), with strategic inputs from Rashi Dhir (Senior Partner & Head of Corporate).

DSK Legal assisted and advised Climateforce Technologies Private Limited (“Company”) and its founder, in connection with an investment round led by Transition Venture Capital Fund I, along with other participating angel investors. The transaction was structured as a mix of primary and secondary investment. Company is operating an AI-enabled risk management platform (i.e., ‘GreenFi’) for ESG compliance wherein its integrated platform leverages AI agents and large language models to automate ESG due diligence, reporting, and sustainability performance tracking across customers, portfolios, transactions, and suppliers. Pursuant to the investment round, the Company intends to scale its global distribution network, strengthen its AI product innovations, and expand its presence across key markets including California, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The role of DSK Legal included reviewing, negotiating, and finalising the transaction documents (including the share subscription agreement, shareholders agreement, share purchase agreement, and founder’s employment agreement), and providing support in relation to closing the transaction. The DSK Legal team, which represented the Company, comprised of Mr. Chirag Jain (Associate Partner), Mr. Kunal Garg (Senior Associate), and Ms. Snigdha Prakash (Senior Associate). Mr. Rishi Anand (Partner) acted as the lead engagement partner and gave strategic inputs on the transaction. Transition Venture Capital Fund I was represented by LexStart Partners