Khaitan’s Competition / Antitrust law team offers unrivalled expertise on competition law matters which stems from a strong understanding of the Indian business environment and pragmatic commercial considerations. The team’s formidable bench comprising approximately 20 dedicated practitioners, including 4 Partners, are consistently ranked as a top-tier competition law practice and leading practitioners in India by legal directories such as Chambers & Partners, Who’s Who Legal, Global Competition Review, Legal 500, AsiaLaw, Benchmark Litigation and India Business Law Journal.
Our integrated pan-India team leverages its wide-ranging experience in the subject to provide holistic and committed assistance to clients in India and across the globe. We effectively gauge the priorities of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in its inquiry and review processes, through curated sector-based expertise, to achieve effective results.
We assist a diverse set of Indian and global clients in securing CCI’s approval for M&A transactions. We routinely collaborate with international law firms on the India-leg of global deals. Alongside securing merger clearances, we aid in preparing competition compliant transaction structures and documentation. Our expertise across sectors, key understanding of commercial needs, and strong knowledge of the CCI’s processes and customs enable us to procure expedited and unconditional approvals in most transactions. Our team has been consistently involved in securing clearances for a variety of complex and marquee transactions including securing approvals for Phase II investigations and negotiating remedies packages with the CCI.
Since the inception of the law in India, we have been at the centre of enforcement activity across sectors. We regularly handle some of the most complex cartel, anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position cases. Over the years, with our involvement in arguably every important leniency matter in India, including several of them emanating from global cartels, we can take pride in our position as the “go to” trusted advisor on complex leniency matters.
Apart from our general suite of competition law workstream, we combine our expertise in Indian and global competition laws to offer bespoke solutions such as:
- Helping financial sponsors, private equity and minority investors in efficient deal structuring
- Advising on cutting-edge issues in tech and new-age markets including go to market strategies
- Providing guidance on commercial strategies, pricing and business models
- Advising on non-cartel agreements, joint venture related conduct, distribution issues, and intellectual property licensing issues
- Conducting compliance trainings for competitively compliant behaviour
- Advising on complex cartel investigations often involving cross-border elements
- Designing dawn raid programs and assisting in live scenarios
Our team advises clients on a variety of Indian competition law issues including merger filings, anti-trust dispute resolution, leniency applications, compliance audits and dawn raids.
Our team has been involved in some of the most complex competition law matters since the inception of the law in India. While providing end-to-end solutions on Indian competition law matters, our team routinely engages with international law firms, expert economists, market consultants, academicians and senior advocates of the Supreme Court and High Courts in India. We bring a well-rounded perspective on competition law matters based on the diverse backgrounds of our team members and the depth of our experience.
Successfully advised Suez in the global merger between Veolia and Suez
Advising client in their acquisition of the cement and power plants from Jaiprakash Associates Limited situated in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Chhattisgarh.
Successfully obtained the Competition Commission of India's unconditional approval for acquisition of Citibank’s Consumer Business. This is one of the largest deals in India's financial services space.
Secured unconditional approval for the acquisition of certain commercial assets of RMZ group and the acquisition of CoWrks
Advised client in GlaxoSmithKline’s acquisition of Pfizer’s global consumer health business.
Secured approval for Softbank’s USD 450 million investment in Swiggy
Successfully represented client in filing of a leniency application and before the CCI, securing 100% reduction in penalty
Representing client before the CCI and the appellate tribunal of the CCI, against allegations of cartelisation and bid rigging.
Successfully defended IndiGo against allegations of airlines fixing fares through use of algorithms.
"Everyone across their team, including the senior and principal associates, has in-depth knowledge of the sector. They offer pragmatic advice and have a deep understanding of the local regulatory antitrust environment."
