The Venture Intelligence Blog

RBI TIGHTENS THE NOOSE ON DIGITAL LENDING ACTIVITIES Digital lending is a remote and automated lending process, majorly by use of seamless digital technologies in customer acquisition, credit assessment, loan approval, disbursement, recovery, and associated customer service1. While lending and delivery of credit products via digital lending has gained prominence, especially in the post pandemic era, the Reserve Bank of India (“ RBI ”) has treated digital lending with caution due to concerns relating to unbridled engagement of third parties, mis-selling, breach of data privacy, unfair business conduct, charging of exorbitant interest rates, and unethical recovery practices. In order to set up a regulatory approach to address these concerns, and to study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated financial sector, by regulated as well as unregulated players, the RBI constituted a Working Group on ‘digital lending including lending through online platforms and mobile apps’...

UPDATE ON WITHDRAWAL OF THE PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL, 2019 Background As of today, India does not have a comprehensive, stand-alone legislation that addresses data protection in the country unlike the European Union GDPR. It is mainly governed by the Information Technology Act of 2000 and Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 along with sectoral regulations that address protection of data collected by them in their respective sectors, such as Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, etc. However, the Personal Data Protection Bill (‘PDP Bill’) was designed by a subcommittee appointed under the chairmanship of Justice Sri Krishna in 2018 to address the lack of a stand-alone data protection legislation. It was approved in December 2019 and was sent to be reviewed by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (‘JPC’). The ...

CAM and SAM claim the No.2 & No.3 slots AZB & Partners (AZB) topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Legal Advisor to M&A Transactions by value and volume for H1 2022. AZB advised 49 M&A deals worth $24.46 Billion. They were followed by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) ($22.42 Billion across 43 deals) and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) ($5.8 Billion across 16 deals) in the second and third spots respectively. Khaitan & Co. ($5 Billion across 40 deals) took the fourth spot with Trilegal ($3.6 Billion across 31 deals) completing the top five. Among the larger M&A deals during H1 2022, AZB and CAM advised Adani Group's  $10.5 Billion acquisition of  Switzerland-based Holcim’s entire stake in the latter’s two Indian cement companies (Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd). The duo also advised the $2 Billion funding received by three Adani Group firms from Abu Dhabi-based IHC. AZB, CAM and J Sagar Associates  advised the $1.76 Billion acquisit...

Citi and Arpwood Capital claim the No.2 & No.3 slots Allegro Advisors topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Transaction Advisor to M&A Deals  for the six months ending June 2022.  Allegro Advisors advised 4 deals worth $3.35 Billion. Citi ($2.2 Billion across 3 deals) and Arpwood Capital ($1.9 Billion across 2 deals) took the second and third spots respectively. Axis Capital ($1.67 Billion across 3 deals) took the fourth spot and Credit Suisse ($1.62 Billion across 1 deal) completed the top five.  The  Venture Intelligence League Tables , the first such initiative exclusively tracking transactions involving India-based companies, are based on the value of PE and M&A transactions advised by Financial and Legal Advisory firms. Among the largest M&A deals in H1 2022, Standard Chartered Bank , Ernst & Young and PwC acted as the advisors to the $1.55 Billion acquisition of PE firm Actis' renewable energy platform, Sprng Energy, by Sh...

Trilegal and Khaitan & Co. claim the No.2 & No.3 slots AZB & Partners (AZB) topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Legal Advisor to Private Equity Transactions in H1 2022. advising PE deals worth $11.1 Billion (across 84 qualifying deals) during the period. Trilegal ($5.7 Billion across 36 deals) and Khaitan & Co. ($5.35 Billion across 37 deals) took the second and third spots. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) ($5.3 Billion across 46 deals) and IndusLaw ($3.3 Billion across 85 deals) completed the top five. Among the larger PE-VC transactions during the period,  Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) , Trilegal , Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Mobile Content and News aggregator Unicorn – Dailyhunt’s $805 million fundraise from Sumeru Ventures, Luxor Capital, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Sofina, Baillie Gifford, and CPPIB. AZB & Partners and Indus Law advised food delivery company Zomato’s acquisition of instant grocery startup Blinkit (...

Avendus topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Transaction Advisor to Private Equity Transactions for the 6 months ended June 2022, advising PE-VC deals worth $4.1 Billion. Ernst & Young stood second having advised deals worth $807 million. JM Financial ($770 million), Citi ($593 million) and PwC ($577 million) completed the top five for H1 2022. The  Venture Intelligence League Tables , the first such initiative exclusively tracking transactions involving India-based companies, are based on the value of PE and M&A transactions advised by Financial and Legal Advisory firms. Among the larger private equity deals in Q2 2022, Avendus acted as advisor to Mobile   Content and News aggregator Unicorn Dailyhunt ’s $805 million fundraise from Sumeru Ventures, Luxor Capital, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Sofina, Baillie Gifford, and CPPIB. Ernst & Young advised the $775 million purchase of six toll road projects from Welspun Enterprises by Actis. Citi and...