Exclusive: Desai & Diwanji and Latham & Watkins have advised Vedanta group-owned iron ore producer and exporter Sesa Goa on its $90m (Rs 400 crore) buyout of Liberian company Western Cluster’s of majority stakes from mining major Elenilto Minerals & Mining.

Luthra & Luthra has promoted three Delhi lawyers to partnership and will buy German-made cars for five partners, as a raft of associates have been promoted to senior and managing associate levels.

European publishing giant enters India with Associated Law Advisers, Universal Legal for Chennai e-publisher, Khaitan gets close to HDFC’s new investment banking head, and more…

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**Trilegal has promoted counsel Saurabh Bhasin as non-equity partner in the energy and infrastructure group in Delhi from 1 August.

Naik Naik & Co-led Retailers Association of India (RAI) has lost the immovable property rentals’ service tax matter in the Bombay High Court, which upheld the union government’s power to enact laws to impose service tax on such rentals as constitutionally valid.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) and US firm Covington & Burling advised Disney, which is seeking to buy-out its Indian partners in the UTV joint venture for $454m, with AZB & Partners advising UTV’s promoters.

The Madras High Court today adjourned the A K Balaji writ against 31 foreign law firms to 22 September for final hearing and disposal of the case as the Bar Council of India (BCI) filed its reply in favour of the petitioners.

After taking on more space in Delhi, Khaitan & Co has hired Bangalore independent Anindita Phukan as a partner and vowed to grow both offices with Mumbai as a model, accepting that they needed to improve local market recognition.

Exclusive: ALMT Legal, following its split from Clyde & Co and a number of partners in April, has re-started offices in London and Delhi with two lateral hires joining as partners while Mumbai partners Sameer Tapia and Hitesh Jain will relocate part-time.

Khaitan & Co advised on private equity firm Blackstone’s Rs 150 crore investment in business and banking technology platform Financial Inclusion Network and Operations Limited (FINO), which was advised by Luthra & Luthra.

Amarchand, Anup Shah on $200m for Blackstone Bangalore investment; Majmudar structures KPMG Indian backoffice with Sidleys; and more…

Exclusive: Vaish Associates Delhi-based senior associate Sachit Jolly will relocate to Mumbai to start the firm’s direct tax law practice in Mumbai.

Finsec Law Advisors has taken on its first lateral partner, with ARA Law senior associate Indrajit Mishra coming on board to build the transactional private equity practice at the financial sector advisory boutique.

Majmudar & Co, UK law firms Addleshaw Goddard and Eversheds have advised on the buyout of UK-based Ventura’s call centre business by FTSE-listed outsourcing company Capita for $94m.

Trilegal, which has acted for Blackstone Group for six months, advised the private equity (PE) major on its Rs 500 crore ($111m) investment in Visa Group’s power production company Visa Power for a minority stake.

Khaitan & Co, J Sagar Associates (JSA) and White & Case have advised exchange and trading technology provider Financial Technologies on its $200m debt funding by Deutsche Bank AG.

Exclusive: Desai & Diwanji Gurgaon advised Franklin Templeton on its purchase of 20 per cent of Mumbai designer clothes retailer Kimaya Fashions, which was advised by AZB & Partners Mumbai office.

PXV Law Partners, which started as RDA Legal only three years ago with its founder just about two years out of NUJS Kolkata, can now boast four metro offices, a lockstep equity partnership model, bi-yearly managing partner elections and ambitious plans to give the legal world’s top brass a run for its money in the next five years.

AZB & Partners has promoted Mumbai capital markets senior associate Varoon Chandra to partner.

Exclusive: MDP & Partners recent lateral Ashok Paranjpe has won a Rs 15.77 crore ($3.5m) arbitration dispute for his long-standing client Tata Motors against the Gujarat Electricity Board, which its lawyers Little & Co will appeal in the Bombay High Court.