Skadden recently represented Citigroup Global Markets, Kotak Mahindra and Enam Securities in an US$82 million rule 144A/regulation S initial public offering by DB Corp.
DB Corp is the largest Hindi language newspaper group and one of the biggest newspaper groups in India. It has seven newspapers, 48 newspaper editions and 128 sub-editions in three languages in 11 states.
Rajeev Duggal, a partner at Skadden in Singapore who advised on the deal, told India Business Law Journal: “2009 was no doubt the year of the QIP [qualified institutional placement], by which a listed company sells shares in a follow-on offering to foreign and domestic qualified institutional buyers, or QIBs, on a discretionary basis, subject to a two-week trailing average floor price – particularly given that issuers can tap markets quickly, usually in four to six weeks, which was important given the volatile markets. It was terrific to be able to also get a quality IPO, which required significant lead time, done in 2009.”
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The transaction included a secondary sale of shares by Cliffrose Investments, an investment arm of Warburg Pincus. Skadden was sole international counsel on the transaction.
Duggal said that while it was difficult to predict how current capital markets in India would perform after the economic crisis, Skadden expected healthy growth to continue in 2010. “If SEBI [Securities and Exchange Board of India] filings are any indicator, as of the end of 2009 more issuers had already filed SEBI applications to undertake IPOs or QIPs than the total number that had done offerings in 2009, which gives reason for optimism,” he said. “That said, substantial capital inflows in 2009 that are continuing into 2010 are giving rise to fears of inflation and an overheating market, which will only add to the uncertainty in the markets.”
The Skadden transaction team comprised Jonathan Stone in Hong Kong and Duggal in Singapore, and included Los Angeles tax partner Moshe Kushman. DB Corp was represented by its in-house counsel.
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