Gagrats

With a competitive edge in aviation, energy and infrastructure, Gagrats offers advisory services in corporate, banking and finance as well as dispute resolution. Senior partner Rustam Gagrat’s core practices cover aviation, banking and finance and corporate and M&A, and he has experience in the other practices like dispute resolution and restructuring and insolvency.  

Banking and finance

Work highlights

Advised an international airline regarding the financing structures in relation to its sale and leaseback of several new B737-8 Max aircraft with various corporations, such as GE Capital Aviation Services, Goshawk Aviation, Pembroke Capital and Jackson Square Aviation Ireland.

Advised a travel and tourism company regarding the revision of terms of various agreements on overseas loans borrowed by one of its subsidiaries in Hong Kong from the State Bank of India’s Hong Kong branch, which the client had given a corporate guarantee in favour of the bank.

Capital markets

Work highlights

Provided legal counsel to a publicly listed company in relation to the conversion of its debt to a consortium of domestic banks into equity shares and non-convertible debentures, under the Reserve Bank of India’s circular on corporate debt restructuring and resolution of stressed assets.

Advised a publicly listed company on the issuance of securities such as equity shares, covering preferential issue, rights issue and QIP, and the issue of compulsorily convertible preference shares, redeemable preference shares, and non-convertible debentures under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2018.

Competition/antitrust

Work highlights

Advising leading airlines in the competition law proceedings regarding the alleged cartelisation by airlines in India levying a fuel surcharge on cargo carried by airlines.

Advising a publicly listed company regarding the acquisition of a majority stake in one of its engineering joint venture companies and the evaluation of its impact under the Competition Act.

Corporate and M&A

Work highlights

Advised a private company in relation to the establishment of an air taxi service that operates flights within regional airports in India.

Provided legal counsel to an air transport business operator regarding the sale of its stake in one of its joint venture companies to UPS Freight Forwarding, its joint venture partner.

Dispute resolution

Work highlights

Advised a leading bio-refinery company in proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Board of India regarding an issue of shares to an unregistered trust alleged to be a collective investment scheme.

Advising a leading corporation in filing a defamation lawsuit against the publisher in the Bombay High Court.

Intellectual property

Work highlights

Representing a leading international travel and tourism company against Tourplan Pacific and its subsidiaries over the client’s alleged infringement of their own software with the software ‘Passion’ developed by a vendor before the High Court of New Zealand.

Labour and employment                                                                           

Work highlights

Assisted a leading corporation in framing company policies for regulating terms of its employees’ services and drafting the staff manual as well as on the compliance issues under the Maternity Benefit Act.

Key clients

Forbes Marshall

Private equity

Work highlights

Advised an international airline regarding investments by foreign investors and private equity funds, including the civil aviation regulations, foreign direct investment policy, and SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) takeover regulations.

Regulatory

Work highlights

Advising International Air Transport Association on various aviation laws, regulatory and litigation matters.

Restructuring and insolvency

Work highlights

Advised a publicly listed aviation company in India on its corporate debt restructuring, including provisions of default, remedies and procedural formalities under its various lease documents, the impact of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 on cross-border insolvencies that involve aircraft ownership and leases.

Advised a leading publicly listed corporation in relation to corporate debt restructuring and obtaining private equity investments.

Tax

Work highlights

Advised a publicly listed company on seeking a tax indemnity for tax claims under cross-border leasing transactions.