Indranath Bishnu

Practice Areas

Indranath Bishnu

Partner

Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, Insurance

Indranath is a partner with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and is a part of the general corporate practice in the Mumbai region. Indranath’s work is focussed on the Insurance industry where he specializes in mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. Since 2007, he has advised multiple corporations, both Indian and foreign, in relation investments in the insurance sector as well as establishment, operation, management and control of insurance companies in India. Indranath also regularly advises corporate brokers and agents in relation to the development and distribution of insurance products with Indian insurers.

Indranath also advises various government bodies on reforms in the insurance sector. He currently serves as a member on 2 committees constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to study and recommend capital requirements for Insurance entities as well as the impact of Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 on Insurance Sector. He is also leading the team from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas engaged to advise the Regulation Review Committee constituted by the General Insurance Council and the Life Insurance Council in relation to overhauling and consolidating the regulatory framework issued by the IRDAI. Further, he is leading the team from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas engaged to advise on the Bima Sugam project, which is the flagship initiative for establishing a digital platform, involving the IRDAI and the entire insurance industry.

Along with the focus in the Insurance sector, he has advised on transactions in other financial services sector such as payments banks, credit information companies, banking, mutual funds, credit cards, and payment and settlement systems. His other notable M&A experience has been in the sectors such as civil aviation, retail, goods and services, and real estate.

Relevant experience:

Insurance M&A:

• Advised Zurich Insurance Company Ltd in relation to its proposed acquisition of up to 70% of the paid up equity share capital of Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited, through a combination of primary and secondary acquisition.

• Advised V-Sciences Investments Pte. Ltd. (a Temasek group entity) in relation to the proposed subscription of 2.63% of the paid up equity share capital of Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited.

• Advised Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Limited and its Indian promoter Aditya Birla Capital Limited in relation to a capital infusion by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (one of the major sovereign wealth funds in the world).

• Advised Marsh International Holdings Inc in relation to acquisition of a majority stake in Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Limited and advising on several contentious issues from a regulatory perspective (including foreign exchange regulations); drafting the application to the IRDAI to procure prior approval for the transaction; and drafting transaction documents and other ancillary documents pertaining to the transaction.

• West Street Global, an investment arm of Goldman Sachs group in their equity investment in Girnar Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. (InsuranceDekho) of INR 153.3 crore as part of the INR 300 crore round.

• Axis Bank Limited in their equity investment in Go Digit Life Insurance Limited to acquire a stake of 9.9%.

• Axis Bank Limited in their proposed acquisition of additional stake in Max Life Insurance Company Limited to dial-up their shareholding to 16.23%.

• Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. in their INR 300 crore (approx.) investment in D2C Consulting Services Private Limited (RenewBuy).

• Advised Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) which has invested in the Series D funding round of Acko Technologies and Services Private Limited, the holding company of Acko General Insurance Limited. General Atlantic and Lightspeed Ventures have also participated in this round. Acko has become a unicorn with this funding round. The deal closing is subject to IRDAI approval.

• Advised Leapfrog Investments in their equity investment of $250 million as a part of its Series E fundraising at a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion in Girnar Software Private Limited (GSPL), under the brand Cardekho (online portal for new and used cars). We provided regulatory advice on insurance industry practices followed by GSPL's insurance broker subsidiary namely Girnar Insurance Brokers Private Limited.

• Advised Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) and Susquehanna International Group, LLP (SIG) in relation to their investment in Novabenefits Private Limited (Novabenefits), a company engaged in providing employee benefits related services with human resource process automations. The subsidiary of Novabenefits has also obtained a direct insurance broking license from the IRDAI, which will allow the subsidiary to provide the clients of Novabenefits with various combinations of insurers and insurance coverages.

• Advised Life Insurance Corporation of India in relation to its Initial Public Offering closed in FY 2022.

• Advised Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited in relation to its Initial Public Offering in December 2021.

• Advised the Book Running Lead Managers in respect of the Initial Public Offering of GoDigit General Insurance Limited in August 2022 as well as the Initial Public Offering of PB Fintech Limited (the parent entity of Policybazaar (India's largest digital insurance marketplace) and Paisabazaar) in November 2021

• Advised the Book Running Lead Managers in respect of the Initial Public Offering of PB Fintech Limited (the parent entity of Policybazaar (India's largest digital insurance marketplace) and Paisabazaar) in November 2021

• Advised Axis Bank Limited, in relation to its proposal to acquire 29% stake in Max Life Insurance Company Limited from Max Financial Services Limited. The transaction is pending consummation subject to inter alia receipt of various regulatory approvals from Reserve Bank of India, IRDAI and the Competition Commission of India.

• Advised Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Limited, JLT Asia Holdings B.V. in relation to the acquisition of 51% of the paid-up equity share capital by JLT Asia Holdings B.V.

Financial Services:

• Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in relation to the sale of its banking business to Development Commercial Bank

• Advised Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc., with respect to its investment in Union Asset Management Company Private Limited, the asset manager of Union Mutual Fund.

• Advised The Federal Bank Limited in connection with its investment in Equirus Capital Private Limited, a SEBI registered merchant banker.

• Advised Axis Bank Limited in relation to its acquisition of the digital payment and settlement business of Freecharge.

• Advised The Royal Bank of Scotland in relation to merger of the Indian branch of The Royal Bank of Scotland NV (Netherlands) into The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (United Kingdom) under Section 44A of the Banking Regulation Act.

• Advised The State Bank of India in relation to the establishment of its payments bank joint venture with Reliance Industries.

• Advised The Royal Bank of Scotland in relation to the sale of its private wealth management operations in India, the proposed sale of its retail and commercial banking operations in India and internal group restructurings.

Strategic Joint Ventures:

• Advised Brightstar Corp. in relation to its joint venture with the Bharti Group in the wireless device and accessory distribution sector.

• Advised Singapore Airlines in relation to its joint venture with Tata Sons for setting up a full service passenger airline company (Vistara) in India.

• Advised Host Hotels and GIC Singapore for setting up a joint venture with Accor Hotels and InterGlobe Enterprises to primarily engage in the operation, ownership and management of various hotel and hospitality projects in India.

• Advised Singapore Air Terminal Services (SATS Limited) for setting up a joint venture with National Aviation Company of India Limited (Air India Limited) to carry on the business of ground handling and cargo handling in various airports in India.

• Advised Equifax Inc in relation to the establishment of Equifax Credit Information Company Limited, a joint venture with seven other public and private sector banks.

Other M&A Experience:

• Advised ABB in relation to Indian Law aspects concerning ABB’s global acquisition of GE Industrial Solutions, GE’s global electrification solutions business

• Advised Brightstar Corp., in setting up their Indian operations by way of a limited liability partnership in a special economic zone in Chennai.

• Advised RedKnee Solutions Inc, in relation to the acquisition of the Business Support Systems of Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. in India.

• Advised Marico Limited for the acquisition of the personal care business of Paras Pharmaceuticals Limited from the Reckitt Benkiser Group.

Professional Memberships

Bar Council of Delhi, India

Publications

• Remuneration to Directors and KMPs of Insurers – Enhanced Guidelines with Extended Coverage – Remuneration to Directors and KMPs of Insurers – Enhanced Guidelines with Extended Coverage | India Corporate Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

• Liberalisation of Expenses of Management Limits and Linkage with Commission: Impact on the Insurance Industry – Liberalisation of Expenses of Management Limits and Linkage with Commission: Impact on the Insurance Industry | India Corporate Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

• Looking Beyond Core Insurance Business: Insurers Allowed to Offer Value Added Services and Engage in Distribution of Other Financial Products – Looking Beyond Core Insurance Business: Insurers Allowed to Offer Value Added Services and Engage in Distribution of Other Financial Products | India Corporate Law (cyrilamarchandblogs.com)

Education

Awards