Platinum Partners with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised UK oil and gas major BG Group on its sale of state-owned Gujarat Gas Company for over Rs 2,400 crore to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation’s (GSPC) subsidiary GSPC Distribution Networks, involving India’s first long form merger control clearance.

Platinum Partners co-founding partner Karam Daulet-Singh and Freshfields London partner Rod Carlton acted for BG Group, which sold its 65.12 per cent controlling interest Gujarat Gas. [Correction: The original version of this article mistakenly stated that Platinum and Freshfields advised Gujarat Gas. We regret the error.]

Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai managing partner Cyril Shroff with competition law partner Nisha Kaur Uberoi filed the Form II merger notification in long form for the transaction with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last Thursday.

This was the first long form notification filed in India, according to Amarchand, and required detailed economic analysis and competition impact assessment, including analysing the overlap of the business activities of the parties to the combination.

However, a total of 80 Form I merger filings – a much faster shorter process - have now been made with the CCI since 1 June 2011, according to the firm. The process could take as few as 30 days, or depending on the complexity of the investigation, stretch up to a permitted maximum of 210 days, reported Mint.

GSPC Distribution Networks is buying Gujarat Gas shares at Rs 295 per share, and it will pay Rs 2,463 crore to the BG Group for the acquisition, according to a statement by GSPC reported in The Hindu.

Gujarat Gas is the largest private player in the natural gas transmission and distribution business in India. It supplies gas to around 3.5 lakh domestic, commercial and industrial users and serves over 1.75 lakh CNG customers, reported Deal Curry.

Photo by Mike Fleming