Merger control specialist Aparna Mehra is moving to Trilegal after quitting her decade-long partnership at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co as the market for antitrust lawyers in India stays hot.

Mehra has obtained Competition Commission of India approvals for some of the largest deals in the past decade, including the now-defunct $10 billion merger of media giants Sony India and Zee Entertainment; ChrysCapital and BPEA EQT’s $1.1 billion acquisition of HDFC Credila – India’s largest ever private equity buyout in the financial services sector; private equity giant Advent’s $750 million acquisition of Suven Pharma, one of the largest pharma deals in 2023; Biocon’s sale of a 15 percent stake in Biocon Biologics to Serum Institute of India for $730 million; and Reliance Retail’s $3.38 billion purchase of conglomerate Future Group.

Mehra is second antitrust partner to jump from SAM to Trilegal this year, following Gauri Chhabra, who joined the latter firm last month. These moves rebuild Trilegal’s antitrust practice after the loss of competition head Nisha Kaur Uberoi, who moved along with a team of 25 to JSA Advocates & Solicitors earlier this year.

As competition enforcement work has dried up in the last two years, firms have bulked up their merger control practices to stabilize their antitrust groups. AZB & Partners added Dinoo Muthappa from Talwar Thakore & Associates and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas partner Kirthi Srinivas earlier this year. Competition-focused Chandiok & Mahajan hired Modhulika Bose as a partner from P&A Law Offices in June.