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Antitrust and competition

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AZB & Partners

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With strengths across merger control filings and conduct cases, AZB & Partners maintains a leading position in the Indian market and is well-equipped to handle the full gamut of antitrust and competition matters. The group is sought after by impressive names from the technology, media and entertainment, and energy sectors. Its capabilities to handle high-profile and high-value investigations into anticompetitive business practices, merger filings, and abuse of dominance mandates at both domestic and cross-border levels continue to garner new clients. Heading up the department in Mumbai is Bharat Budholia, while the Delhi office is co-led by Ram Kumar Poornachandran and Hemangini Dadwal. Budholia stands out for his extensive experience acting before the CCI and the NCLAT in antitrust enforcement cases, while Poornachandran is noted for his expertise in high-stakes investigations. On the settlement front, Dadwal is the name to note with a history of acting on precedent-setting matters, including representing Google in the first digital markets investigation. Other key members of the practice include Toshit Shandilya, Dinoo Muthappa, and Kirthi Srinivas.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The AZB competition practice is one of the largest and most recognised practices in India. Its partners have worked on most of India's top M&A deals and landmark antitrust litigation. They have also been at the forefront of competition policy; helping to shape primary and secondary legislation.’

  • ‘Ram Kumar is one of the most respected competition law practitioners in India. An excellent lawyer, we value him for his deep commercial knowledge and extensive work with regulators and industry bodies. Ram has always had a great sense of how future legal and regulatory hurdles may come up and affect business.'

  • 'Dinoo Muthappa is a very effective lawyer who brings great technical skills, along with an inherent understanding of how the regulator thinks, to the table. Having previous regulator experience is a great plus, and we regularly bounce issues off her to understand how risks may manifest themselves.'
  • 'Mohith Gauri: rising star within Indian competition law circles. Mohith's intelligence and legal skills are exemplary. His legal analysis is sharp and drafting is tight. Senior counsels praise his briefing skills. Mohith is well on his way in becoming one of the legal greats in the field.’

  • ‘Exceptional strategic insight, and dedicated team from partner to junior associate. Partner availability is superb.’

  • ‘Ram Poornachandran provides very quick, but well-considered advice. Very clear, identifies potential issues (and solutions) before they arise. He provides excellent advice on how to achieve consensus and resolution in difficult matters, thinking about particular personality traits.’

Key clients

  • Bharti Group
  • Google LLC
  • 360 One
  • KKR & Co Inc.
  • Coromandel International Limited
  • Mars Inc.
  • Warburg Pincus LLC
  • Premji Invest
  • Sony Group
  • JSW Energy Ltd.
  • Prosus N.V.
  • Coinbase Global Inc.

Work highlights

Represented Google in the settlement of the Android TV investigation before the CCI.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Hemangini Dadwal
Ram Kumar Poornachandran

Next Generation Partners

Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Bharat Budholia
Dinoo Muthappa

Practice head

Ram Kumar Poornachandran; Bharat Budholia; Hemangini Dadwal

Other key lawyers

Toshit Shandilya; Dinoo Muthappa; Kirthi Srinivas

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