Amarchand Mangaldas acted on more than half of the total number of Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs) in Legally India’s QIP League Table of the 2009-2010 fiscal year. AZB & Partners and Khaitan & Co were the second-busiest followed by J Sagar Associates (JSA) and Crawford Bayley and S&R Associates amongst domestic firms.

International firm Jones Day bagged the maximum QIPs out of foreign law firms acting for the book running lead managers while Linklaters, Dorsey & Whitney and Clifford Chance also won mandates on a significant numbers of fundraisings.

Crawford Bayley sold 350,000 square foot of client Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company (BDMC)‘s real estate complex in Parel to Khaitan & Co client Axis Bank for around $170m.

Crawford Bayley, Luthra & Luthra and Baker & McKenzie and Stephenson Harwood have advised on the $3.7bn takeover of Piramal Healthcare by US pharma major Abbott Laboratories.

Amarchand Mangaldas, Crawford Bayley and Luthra & Luthra, and young firms Axon Partners LLP, Link Legal and S&R Associates, are bidding for the role of legal advisor to the government in the disinvestment of state-owned Engineers India Limited (EIL) which is set to happen through a follow-on public offer in July.

M Dhruva & Partners, which spun out of J Sagar Associates earlier this month, has acted on its first independent litigation matter opposite Crawford Bayley, directing the arrest of a ship on behalf of its Hong Kong-based client Star Matrix.

Delhi start-up Axon Partners has landed a role next to Crawford Bayley and Linklaters on Jaiprakash Power Venture’s surprise $200m (Rs 920 crore) convertible bond issue.

Crawford Bayley has picked up the latest Government disinvestment mandate for India’s single largest iron ore producer and exporter National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), following Amarchand Mangaldas, Fox Mandal Little and Luthra & Luthra bagging the three other disinvestments of the past four months.

Crawford Bayley and Khaitan & Co have advised on the $400m (Rs 1,900 crore) takeover of listed Chennai pharmaceutical company Orchid Chemical & Pharmaceutical by US pharma major Hospira.

Legally India research has revealed Amarchand Mangaldas as the top IPO dealmaker of this financial year so far, while Khaitan & Co and Luthra & Luthra are in close contest for the runner-up spot. International and domestic firms are competing in a tightly bunched mid-field of the ranking.

Amarchand Mangaldas has acted on 70 per cent of qualified institutional placements (QIPs) in the first half of this financial year, with international firms, AZB & Partners, J Sagar Associates (JSA), Luthra & Luthra, S & R Associates and Crawford Bayley mopping up the rest.

Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners and Luthra & Luthra have benefited the most from the dash to hit the markets by month-end, as 16 companies filed draft initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses in the last two weeks.

Desai & Diwanji has poached a team of four lawyers from Crawford Bayley, taking on one senior associate as a partner.