Private equity giant Blackstone has widened its circle of standing Indian advisers to include Desai & Diwanji on its latest investments in the power sector, having used Khaitan & Co on its previous two major deals. Luthra & Luthra advised its long-standing clients Moser Baer Projects in the $300m stake buy, and Clarus Law led for Monnet Power Company on Blackstone’s $70m investment.

According to data provider mergermarket’s latest league table, AZB & Partners was the busiest M&A law firm with 38 deals to its credit in the first half of 2010, followed by Amarchand Mangaldas and Desai & Diwanji in second and third places respectively, with a total of 14 deals each.

AZB & Partners advised close client Tata Power in raising $300m by selling up to 15 per cent in two of its Indonesian coal-assets-owning special purpose vehicles (SPVs) Bhira Investments and Bhivpuri Investments to private equity house Olympus Capital Holdings Asia, which Desai & Diwanji and US firms Milbank Tweed and Purrington Moody Weil advised.

Amarchand Mangaldas has acted for private equity fund Warburg Pincus in its investment of Rs 392 crore ($85m) in India’s largest diagnostics laboratory chain Metropolis Health Care, which was advised by Desai & Diwanji.

AZB & Partners has shot to the top of the mergermarket M&A league table by acting on seven out of eight of the largest M&A deals in the first three months of 2010. Desai & Diwanji and Amarchand Mangaldas respectively came in at second and third place by number of deals done.

Desai & Diwanji has acted as sole legal adviser on Rs 93.4 crores ($20m) investment by Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund III (TSEMF III) in Shiv-Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Services for a 5.3 per cent stake in the company.

Desai & Diwanji and Rajani Associates have advised Motilal Oswal Private Equity Advisers on its Rs 40 crore investment in automobile component maker Minda Industries.

Desai & Diwanji and Tatva Legal, with Davis Polk & Wardwell and Richards Butler advised on private equity house Quadrangle Capital and others’ $300m investment in India’s second largest operator of telecoms towers Tower Vision India.

Desai & Diwanji acted on 24 M&A deals in the 2009 calendar year, placing it at the top of data provider mergermarket’s M&A league table by volume. Amarchand Mangaldas topped the table by value, having advised on M&A deals worth $6.4bn in 2009, while Khaitan & Co and AZB & Partners also gave a strong showing.

The Delhi Turf Twenty20 law firm cricket cup saw defending champion Luthra & Luthra and favourites Trilegal and Dua Associates get knocked out in the quarter finals, with Bhasin & Co, Desai & Diwanji, Titus & Co and Saikrishna qualifying for the semis.

Desai & Diwanji, DSK Legal and Wadia Ghandy have triple-teamed on the $100m private equity investment into Hyderabad power company Ind-Barath Power Infra.

For the first time this year, Desai & Diwanji and Khaitan & Co are leading the third quarter Indian M&A rankings both by value and volume of deals, pushing Amarchand Mangaldas two places down mergermarket’s value league table compared to three months ago.

Desai & Diwanji has scored the first instruction for the merged Tata Quippo towers business, after having originally advised Quippo Telecom on its joint venture (JV) with Tata Teleservices, which was advised by AZB & Partners.

AZB, DSK and Trilegal have done well in Asia Pacific private equity deal rankings despite heavily depressed values and volumes this year.

Desai & Diwanji and J Sagar Associates (JSA) have sealed Essar Steel’s Rs 650 crore ($135m) purchase of Shree Precoated Steels, with JSA facing the “challenging” task of acting as joint counsel to both seller and buyer.

Despite meagre pickings, Desai & Diwanji, Khaitan & Co, AZB & Partners and Amarchand Mangaldas have topped an M&A league table, together advising on 30 Indian deals worth a total of $9.4bn in the last six months.

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