TT&A advised the Burman Family acquirer entities on their Open Offer to the public shareholders of Religare Enterprises Limited (“REL”). The open offer was subject to receipt of statutory approvals from various regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India given that REL is a regulated non-banking finance company. TT&A advised the Burman Family in obtainment of all required statutory approvals for completion of the Open Offer, as well as the Open Offer process in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011. The Firm also provided strategic advice from time to time in connection with the open offer. 

The competition team of TT&A advised the Burman Family on the competition law aspects of the deal, including obtaining the approval from the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) and thereafter, defending the CCI approval in an appeal filed by REL before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. 

This deal holds significant precedential value as it is one of the few hostile takeovers in India, particularly of a target company which is regulated by multiple statutory and regulatory bodies such as the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. The hostile nature of the deal and the non-cooperation of the target throughout the process rendered the statutory approval process extremely challenging. The deal garnered significant media attention throughout for its unique corporate governance aspects.

TT&A Transaction Team: Gautam Saha – Joint Managing Partner; Dushyant Bagga – Partner; Akshita Alok– Managing Associate and Divya Kumar – Associate 

TT&A Competition Team: Sonam Mathur – Partner; Shubhang Joshi – Managing Associate and Saikishan Rathore & Rishabh Joshi – Associates