International M&A involving Indian companies
Taylor Wessing has an international team of corporate mergers and acquisitions experts. We have created a process, specifically for Indian companies, to simplify the steps and documentation involved in international acquisitions, to ensure, as far as possible, that the transaction is smooth, streamlined and cost-effective.
Step 1 – Locating a target
We are very well-placed to assist in locating a target for acquisition, whether in India, or otherwise in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and beyond (whether directly or through our network of connections in the marketplace).
We are also very well-connected in India to expert Indian lawyers, corporate finance advisers and brokers, whom we commonly use to assist us with locating suitable targets in India.
Step 2 – Heads of terms
Our team of expert corporate and tax lawyers commonly assists in planning the structure of a transaction. Involving us at an early stage will enable us to provide you with the advice you need to structure the transaction (including any preliminary due diligence) in the most cost and time effective and tax-efficient manner. We can then reflect that streamlined arrangement in the heads of agreement. We can advise you on what would be typical for a transaction in a relevant jurisdiction and also what can be done to avoid unnecessary procedures.
Step 3 – Due diligence
Acting for the buyer:
We will agree the scope of our due diligence with you in advance, to ensure that it best reflects the transaction, is cost-effective, and saves time and costs on the preparation and negotiation of warranties in the sale documentation later on. We have developed a process that we call “Due Diligence Light”, that is designed to save time and costs at this stage.
Acting for the seller:
We will assist you with the Buyer’s request for providing information relevant to the Buyer’s due diligence questionnaire. We always aim to agree with the Buyer to use the same information for the warranties in the sale documentation later on, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and time and costs when agreeing the warranties.
Step 4 – The documentation and completion of the transaction
Acting for the buyer:
We have prepared simplified, short-form documents for use in the transaction, which save significant management time and legal costs, relative to those used by other firms. We will provide regular updates of the time / cost incurred in the negotiation and finalisation of the documents.
We also assist with the commercial and practical issues relevant to absorbing the target into the existing group, including any necessary tax planning and compliance issues.
Acting for the seller:
We will aim to use our simplified, short-form documents to complete the transaction. If the Buyer sends us its own documentation, we will provide regular updates of the time / cost incurred in negotiation and finalisation of the documents.
We also assist with any post-completion issues that are of relevance to the Seller having sold the target.