M&A attorney Aravind Venugopal has rejoined Indian law firm Khaitan & Co as a partner in Bengaluru after a year-long stint as general counsel at online insurance company Acko.

Venugopal previously joined Khaitan in 2013 and made partner in 2019, before moving to head the legal team at Acko in 2022. He specialises in M&A and contentious exits.

During his earlier stint at Khaitan, Venugopal advised Nippon Life Insurance Company on its share acquisition in Reliance Nippon Life Mutual Funds, Siemens AG on the carve-out of its Indian gas and power business, and Axis Bank on its $1 billion acquisition of Citibank’s retail banking business, one of the largest in the Indian banking sector.

Venugopal’s hire is part of Khaitan’s planned expansion of its corporate offerings in Southern India. In April, the firm hired corporate attorneys Promode Murugavelu and Rakki Partani as partners in Chennai and Bengaluru, respectively.

Khaitan also hired corporate partner Radhika Iyer in Mumbai in June.