What are the most significant cases and or transactions that you have been involved in over the past year?

I have played a central role in the legal aspects (legal guidance and strategic advice, term sheet, structuring, documentation, negotiation, legal and compliance diligence, regulatory and compliance matters, identifying and managing legal risks, closing items and processes, collaboration and co-ordination across various functions in KKR) of several landmark deals by KKR’s funds in India, including: the acquisition of a controlling stake in Healthium Medtech, Ness Technologies, Leap India, Baby Memorial Hospital; the investment of ~ Rs. 2200 crores in Reliance Retail, investment of ~ Rs. 2,460 crores in Advanta Seeds, investment in Infinx Healthcare; the sale of KKR’s stake in the hospital chain Max Healthcare Institute Ltd for ~ Rs. 9,400 crores. This was one of the largest single block deals ever done by any PE firm in India, both in terms of value and stake; and the sale of Virescent Infrastructure to India Grid Trust at an Enterprise Value not exceeding Rs. 4000 crores. This is the first M&A transaction involving two infrastructure trusts in India.

Based on your experience, what is the key to collaborating successfully with business partners?

Bridging the gap between the legal and the business teams: this is a two-way street. Firstly, being an educator: explaining the commercial impact of legal documentation. The other is getting educated: getting to really know the strategies, opportunities, and challenges of the business. In-house legal teams need to be solution oriented – it is helpful to step back and define for each exercise: what is the commercial result that the business team is trying to achieve and the risks in that regard. In house legal teams have a very unique perspective in that we hear concerns and suggestions from many different stakeholders and are tasked with being aware of the larger context in which we operate.

Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives you would like to highlight?

I was the Country Head for KKR Asia Women’s Network, which brings women across KKR Asia together to foster the exchange of insights and ideas and to empower members to achieve their full potential as leaders and change-makers. My initiatives include organising an ally lunch for the women executives and a leadership lecture for the women leaders in KKR’s portfolio companies in India by Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya.I am also actively involved in various initiatives of the USIS PF (as a representative of KKR) including providing representations and industry feedback on key regulatory proposals and reforms, issues impacting the industry, roundtable discussions with other funds and regulators. The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan organisation with a network of 400+ global companies.