January 4, 2012

Patni  plays to iGate’s tunes

A year back, Patni Computer Systems (“Patni”) was a prominent listed Indian company generating annual revenues to the tune of USD 701.7 million and now, Patni is all set to get itself delisted from the bourses and ‘go private’. Almost immediately on the announcement of the voluntary delisting of the shares of Patni, a frantic market reaction could be sensed. The stock price jumped 22% from INR 372.30 on the date of announcement to INR 452.80 within two days, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Stock Exchanges were flooded with ‘buy-orders’ for Patni shares and there was a phenomenal rise in trading volume from nominal 72,500 shares traded, a day before the announcement to 20,00,000 shares after that. Amidst, such market volatility, we endeavor to discover how Patni’s fate turned topsy-turvy in the last one year.

It is no surprise that it is the USD 1.22 billion worth acquisition of Patni by iGATE that has motivated Patni to bid goodbye to its ‘public life’ and find comfort in being a private company.  All thanks to the entrepreneurship skills of Mr. Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGATE Global Solutions Limited, who has recently been awarded the Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award, 2011 by Enterprise Asia. It was his masterstroke to cement iGate’s acquisition of Patni, a company that is 2.5 times the size of iGate. Rarely does such a role reversal happen in the Indian M&A landscape.

On January 10, 2011, iGate and its affiliates executed definitive agreements with the promoters and certain other shareholders of Patni to acquire 61.29% of the issued and paid up equity share capital of Patni. Consequently, iGate and its affiliates had to make a mandatory open offer to the public shareholders of Patni under the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover Regulations, 1997 to additionally acquire a minimum of 20% of the issued and paid up equity share capital of Patni. iGate did not pay any non-compete fees to the selling promoters of Patni. The transaction was funded through a combination of balance sheet cash, debt and fresh equity issuance. The Deal has been reported to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Securities and Exchange Board of India.

In this M&A Lab, we make a deeper probe into the Patni - iGate deal, a billion dollar transaction which elevates the combined entity to the coveted league of billion-dollar Indian IT companies, in terms of revenues. As always, we seek to analyze the legal, regulatory, tax, financing and few other commercial dimensions of this deal.

For a detailed analysis of the commercial, legal, regulatory and tax considerations and to access the M&A Lab, please click here.

Nishith Desai Associates is pleased to present a detailed analysis of the latest legal developments and trends. The M&A Lab is our initiative to provide you in-depth, incisive and a detailed research based analysis of the latest M&A deals with a view to sharing and inviting views and counter-views. We will be happy to have your views / comments on our initiative. Please read the disclaimer carefully.

This document is best viewed in Adobe Acrobat version 7.

 

Team M&A, Nishith Desai Associates

Arun Scaria, Sahil Shah, Nishchal Joshipura & Siddharth Shah

You can direct your queries or comments to the authors

 

 

Management by Trust in a Democratic Enterprise: A Law Firm Shapes Organizational Behavior to Create Competitive Advantage, Global Business and Organizational Excellence, Sep 2009.

NDA: A different approach by Shyamal Majumdar, Business Standard, July 23, 2009.

A law firm head spends his time studying organisational behavior.

Legal 500: Ranked in Tier 1 for Tax, TMT and Investment Funds (2011/2012)

NDA receives TMT WINNER award by IFLR / ASIA LAW (2011)

NDA: Best performing Indian law firm, says RSG, UK

Nishith Desai Associates receives "In-house Community Firm of the Year" for International Arbitration practice

 

>>>

India needs new banks, liquidity, The Economic Times, Pratibha Jain, November 30, 2011

FDI In Pharma Stays At 100% But With Certain Restrictions, VCC Circle, Khushboo Baxi & Milind Antani, November 18, 2011

Former students may not use college name for non-official alumni association, Ankita Manav and Rakhi Jindal, November 14, 2011

Cloud Computing

The Indian Telecom Sector

Doing Business in India

Joint Ventures in India

>>>

Senior Care Industry Trends, Innovative Business Models and Financing Structures, December 7, 2011

Hybrid entities in International Tax Planning – Recent case law and policy issues, November 18, 2011

Liability Issues for officers and directors under U.S. laws and Recent Enforcement Trends Under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), October 10, 2011

>>>

 

Welcome to connect with us at interesting conferences, seminars and events.

>>>

 

Introducing NDA Dialawgue and Deal Destination.

Bijal Ajinkya on Bloomberg UTV: International Taxation Conference, December 18, 2011

Nishchal Joshipura on CNBC TV 18: FDI policy leaves investors jittery but DIPP open to review, October 5, 2011

Vyapak Desai on CNBC TV 18: The wait is on for MCX-SX in its tiff with Sebi, September 26, 2011

Siddharth Shah on CNBC TV 18: No tax liability on Axis or Enam, Sept 16, 2011

>>>

 

Click here to view Hotline archives.

Funding Real Estate Projects - Exit Challenges, April 28, 2011

Real Estate in India - A Practical Insight, March 22, 2011

>>>

Hero to ride without its 'Pillion Rider', March 15, 2011

Piramal - Abbott Deal: The Great Indian Pharma Story, Aug 05, 2010

>>>

 

Our email newsletters – Hotlines are very popular for their insights and analysis. Sign-up to receive Hotlines on the following – Tax, CorpSec, HR, Dispute Resolution and our regular updates such as M&A Labs, IP, Pharma, Media, Telecom Updates and Budget and Policy Analyses.

 

Please visit www.nishithdesai.com to access our Research online.

 

Unsubscribe

 

Feedback

Disclaimer: The contents of this hotline should not be construed as legal opinion. View detailed disclaimer.

This Hotline provides general information existing at the time of preparation. The Hotline is intended as a news update and Nishith Desai Associates neither assumes nor accepts any responsibility for any loss arising to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material contained in this Hotline. It is recommended that professional advice be taken based on the specific facts and circumstances. This Hotline does not substitute the need to refer to the original pronouncements. 

This is not a Spam mail. You have received this mail because you have either requested for it or someone must have suggested your name. Since India has no anti-spamming law, we refer to the US directive, which states that a mail cannot be considered Spam if it contains the sender's contact information, which this mail does. In case this mail doesn't concern you, please unsubscribe from mailing list.