Sidley’s significant transactional experience in India dates back to 1984 and the representation of the Indian Fund, a closed-end investment company organized in the U.S. to invest in securities of issuers domiciled in India. This was the first foreign investment fund to be given permission to invest in India. Sidley then represented Merrill Lynch in 1988 in the initial underwriting and subsequent rights offerings of the India Growth Fund, Inc., the first registered investment company available to the U.S. public for investing primarily in Indian equity securities.
India
Sidley’s India-related practice is focused on providing legal advice on a global scale in connection with capital markets, private equity, investment funds, M&A, restructuring, banking, project finance, international trade and related corporate matters. While the firm does not advise clients on Indian law matters, our lawyers have “on the ground” knowledge of the rapidly changing legal environment in India and, specifically, the rules applicable to foreign direct investment in India. Over the years, Sidley has represented commercial and investment banks, multinational conglomerates, Indian companies, investment funds and government institutions, including the Government of India, in a variety of matters involving India.
Several lawyers on our team are fluent in Hindi and other Indian languages in addition to English. Our Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Washington, D.C. and London offices are important hubs for India-related work.
Our India practice has consistently been ranked as a leading practice, with partners recognized by Chambers Asia-Pacific, Chambers Global, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. We were ranked number one among all international law firms for Indian capital markets based on IPO filings with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for Indian companies in 2017. Sidley was also ranked number one among international firms for India equity offerings in Bloomberg’s 2018 Global Legal Adviser League Tables. India Business Law Journal recently named two Sidley deals to its “Deals of the Year 2020” list.