Zia Mody, co-founder and managing partner of law firm AZB & Partners, which handled the complex merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank (with a combined valuation of $61 billion), calls it the most complicated deal of FY23 with multiple regulators having a say in it. A leader in handling M&As, Mody’s AZB & Partners is the go-to law firm for complex deals, having worked with the Tatas, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries, among others. In fact, in terms of value, Tata Sons’ acquisition of 500 aircraft for around $70 billion in February 2023 was among the biggest. Other important deals included sale of Citi’s consumer business to Axis for $1.41 billion, investment by Bain Capital into CitiusTech for $1 billion and into IIFL wealth for $400 million, and Tata Motors’ buyout of Ford’s Sanand plant.
“Financial services, pharma, education, fintech and aviation are some of the key segments that recorded increased activity, while forensic and fintech continued to grow,” says Mody. — Aprajita Sharma