| As the head of Herbert Smith’s India practice, senior
consultant Nimi Patel is central to the firm’s
strategic push into both the Asian and
communications markets.
Having joined the City firm in 1994 from Jacques &
Lewis (since subsumed into Eversheds), where she
was in charge of Asian business, she has since
proven her natural ability as a leader by playing a
critical role in institutionalising Indian conglomerate
Tata as a client.
In 2000 Patel advised subsidiary Tata Tea on its
£280m purchase of Tetley Group’s share capital and
the subsequent £187m refinancing. In 2004 she led
the team that advised telco Videsh Sanchar Nigram
(VSNL) on its $130m (£68.53m) acquisition of Tyco
Global Network. Tata is VSNL’s largest shareholder.
But 2006 saw Patel’s biggest coup, landing the mandate on Tata’s $5.45bn (£3.65bn) acquisition of
Anglo-Dutch steel giant Corus, one of the firm’s
most significant instructions of the year.
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