Trilegal and Latham & Watkins have advised U.S.-based buyout fund Platinum Equity on its debut private equity deal in India, in the form of the acquisition of a majority stake in Inventia Healthcare, a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company, at a valuation of $300 million.
Quillon Partners represented the sellers on the deal, comprising India Life Sciences Fund III, NYLIM Jacob Ballas India Fund III, Mauritius, and affiliates of the company’s founding Shah family.
“India’s generics sector is well established with attractive long-term growth characteristics, and serves a key role in supplying the pharmaceuticals market globally,” said Jacob Kotzubei, co-president of Platinum Equity.
While growth equity continues to dominate India, the market is seeing a greater appetite for buyouts as more Indian promoters are open to PE sales, and India’s market is producing more high-quality assets that are attractive to the global market.
“The buyout market in India continues to evolve and there are more opportunities available today that fit our approach,” he explained. “There are more mature companies with more need for operational support, including founder or family-owned businesses seeking a partner who can not only provide capital, but also operational expertise.”
The PE buyout market will continue to grow as there are lots of PE-owned businesses in India that will in future change hands between PE owners, according to an Alvarez & Marshall report.
The Trilegal team was led by M&A partners Nishant Parikh and Arnav Dayal and included counsel Shashwat Sharma, senior associates Niharika Choudhary, Ritvika Thakur, Sanjna Vijh, Shreya Shenolikar, and Rishabh Jain, and associates Mahima Nair, Siddharth Pareek, and Dheeya Shetty.
Trilegal partners Kirti Balasubramanian (intellectual property), Samira Lalani (real estate), Kunal Gupta (ABAC compliance), Pranav Sharma (banking and finance), Rajat Jariwal (ESG), and Atul Gupta (employment) also assisted on the deal.
The Latham team was led by Singapore corporate partner Sidharth Bhasin and counsel Michael Rackham, and included associates Mark Hu, Elisabeth Su-Li Ong, Cherine Teh, Benjamin Han, and Zoe Wang. Advice on healthcare matters by provided by Washington, D.C. partner Christopher Schott and Paris partner Eveline Van Keymeulen, along with associates Oliver Mobasser, Jeanne Fabre, and Elisabeth Crusey.
The Quillon team representing the sellers on the deal was led by partner Ankit Majmudar, and included senior associate Stuti Khosla and associates Abhishek Jain and Ishaan Bhatnagar. Senior associate Pooja Kumari advised on employment law matters.