J Sagar Associates (JSA) advised Reliance Infra on its Rs 819 crore ($130m) acquisition of 18 per cent stake in Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering which was advised by K Law and Crawford Bayley.

JSA Mumbai partner Sandeep Mehta confirmed that he acted for Reliance Infra, which will acquire 130 million shares of Pipavav through its subsidiary Reliance Defence Systems. After the acquisition, Reliance Defence Systems will make an open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in the company from public shareholders, reported Mint.

K Law partner Praveen Raju acted for long-standing client Pipavav as the M&A counsel but was not reachable for comment.

Crawford Bayley senior partner Sanjay Asher, principal associate Ankit Paleja, and associates Joyesh Shankar, Hetal Thakker and Roshni Rathi acted on conducting due diligence of Pipavav, drafting the disclosure letter and due diligence bundle in relation to the representations and warranties of the share purchase agreement, and the regulatory and compliance aspects of the deal, said Asher.

The private sector in India is looking to expand its defence division by buying companies which have already put defence infrastructure in place – an interest stoked by prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, reported Mint.

Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani this week wrote in The Hindu about his expansion plans in defence and the importance of the private sector in helping the military achieve its goals.

Photo by Mak Hong Keong