Written by John on 04 August 2011.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Bangalore, India
Goodwin Procter represented client MphasiS Ltd., a leading IT services company based in Bangalore, India, in its acquisition of Wyde Corporation, an international software vendor, in a move to strengthen MphasiS’ presence in the global insurance industry. On August 1, 2011, MphasiS and Wyde signed a definitive agreement for MphasiS to acquire a 100 percent equity stake in Wyde. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Wyde is the developer of Wynsure, a multi-language, multi-currency, customizable software that offers policy administration, claims and billing solutions across life and annuities, disability, health and property and casualty. This transaction is the second investment in the insurance sector for MphasiS and will expand the firm’s reach in the United States, Canada and Europe. MphasiS will establish a Wynsure center of excellence in India to support Wyde’s on-site teams in France and North America. “We are pleased to have advised MphasiS on this acquisition. As the Indian economy has grown, Indian businesses are increasingly looking to more mature markets for acquisitions to fill out their product offerings and find attractive assets at lower prices,” said Yash Rana, Goodwin Procter partner and chair of the firm’s Asia Practice and the Hong Kong office. In addition to Rana, the Goodwin deal team consisted of partners Janet Andolina, Jeffrey I. Klein, Albert J. Solecki and Scott A. Webster as well as counsel Jane Greyf.
Written by John on 03 May 2011.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Bangalore, India, Mumbai, New Delhi
SNR Denton has advised hotel investment company Duet India Hotels Limited on its joint venture with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to develop new Holiday Inn Express hotels across India over the next five years. The hotels will be primarily located in India's major and key secondary cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Duet India Hotels is a hotel group formed by Anuj Gupta and Henry Gabay of Duet Capital. It will take a 76% equity stake in the joint venture, with IHG taking the remaining 24%. "We are extremely pleased to have had this opportunity to work with Duet India Hotels for the first time on this strategic partnership," said corporate partner Jeremy Cohen. The SNR Denton team also comprised corporate partner Richard Barham, managing associate Simon Mitchell and associate Daniela Molluso.
Written by John on 15 April 2011.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Bangalore, India
The international law firm DLA Piper has represented the Ennepetal-based DIRAK Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of technology for hinges, latches and locks, during the full acquisition of DIRAK India Panel Fittings Private Limited. As a result, the subsidiary is once again wholly owned by the DIRAK Group, which had established the joint venture together with the Indian entrepreneur S. D. Chakravarthy in 1997. Mr Chakravarthy had held a stake of 49 per cent to date. Dr Benjamin Parameswaran, a partner and expert on India at DLA Piper, says: “Advising the DIRAK Group on this Indian transaction dovetails seamlessly with a number of prominent cases to show that the DLA Piper India Group is now perceived by clients of note as a leading player in the India business.” DLA Piper was recently chief advisor during the IPO of Coal India, India’s biggest public offering to date with a volume of 3.4 billion US dollars. Chief advisory services for this case were carried out by the India specialists Dr Benjamin Parameswaran (Hamburg/Cologne, Corporate/M&A) and Dr Daniel Sharma (Brussels/Frankfurt am Main, Litigation & Regulatory), who are also responsible in Europe for the global India Group of DLA Piper. The latter comprises a tightly knit group of partners in Continental Europe, the US, the UK, the Middle East, and Asia. All are acknowledged to have extensive expertise in the Indian market, documented by a large number of transactions and other cases. The long-term objective of DLA Piper is to have a presence with its own offices in India as soon as the local regulatory conditions in that country make it possible. In India, DLA Piper cooperated with the commercial law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas in Bangalore (Reeba Chacko, Arjun Lall, Rashmi Pradeep, Maria Cheeran). The buyers were represented by J. Sagar Associates (Murali Ananthasivan) in Bangalore.