"I believe that legal advice must be embedded in commercial reality and aligned with the client's strategic objectives. Advice offered in isolation serves little purpose – it is critical to think creatively, identify actionable pathways, and deliver solutions and create long-term value, rather than merely flagging the hurdles."
Vaibhav Kakkar is a Senior Partner and member of the Firm’s Management Committee, with nearly two decades of expertise in steering high-stakes cross-border transactions and advising on a broad spectrum of regulatory and corporate laws, including securities, foreign exchange, fintech, TMT, and gaming laws. . Vaibhav leads the Firm’s Regulatory practice apart from being a seasoned General Corporate and M&A lawyer.
Vaibhav counsels global corporations on their India investment strategies and is the trusted adviser for several marquee domestic and multinational clients on complex corporate matters, including cross-border M&As, joint ventures, and private equity transactions. He also works closely with government stakeholders on policy matters and spearheads the Firm’s advocacy and policy development team.
Vaibhav is a highly regarded though-leader and leading commentator on emerging legal issues, with a particular focus on FDI and exchange control laws. His insights are frequently featured across leading media platforms and national news outlets. He also serves as a Visiting Senior Fellow at Artha Global, a leading policy research and advisory organization.
Awards And Recognitions
- Recognised as a “Litigation Star – Commercial and Transactions” by Benchmark Litigation in its Asia-Pacific Rankings 2025.
- Consistently recognised as a “Leading Individual” in Corporate-M&A by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific Rankings (2021–2025).
- Recognised as a “Recommended Lawyer” in Fintech and Financial Services Regulatory, Lifesciences & Healthcare, and Private Equity by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific Rankings 2024.
- Highly ranked in Corporate and M&A by Chambers and Partners Global and Asia-Pacific Rankings (2021–2025).
- Consistently recognised as a “Leading Lawyer” in M&A by Legal Era Leading Lawyer Rankings (2022–2025).
- Recognised as a “Distinguished Practitioner” in Corporate-M&A by Asialaw Profiles (2021–2024).
- Consistently recognised as “Highly Regarded” in M&A and Financial Services Regulatory by IFLR1000 Rankings (2020–2024).
- Recognised among the “A-List: Top 100 Lawyers in India” by India Business Law Journal (2021–2025).
- Ranked as a “Recommended Lawyer” in corporate and commercial laws in the RSG Report by Resight India (2018, 2019, and 2025).
- Winner of the “Tech Lawyer of the Year” award at the BW Legal Global Leaders Awards 2023.
- Recognised among the Top 10 Influential Corporate and M&A Lawyers Impacting Business in Delhi by Business Today in 2023.
- Recognised among the “Lawyers Power League: 100 Leading Law Firm Professionals of 2023” by LawWiser.
- Awarded the “Lawyer of the Month” award by Asialaw in July 2022.
- Recognised as a “Rising Star” by Asian Legal Business in 2022.
- Recognised among India’s 50 Future Legal Leaders by India Business Law Journal in 2021.
- Awarded the “40 Under 40 – Elite Club of Lawyers and Legal Influencers” award by BW Legal World in 2021.
- Recognised as a “Rising Star” in M&A by IFLR1000 in its 2019 rankings.
- Recognised among the “40 Under 40 Outstanding Legal Professionals” by Asian Legal Business in 2019.
- Awarded the “Rising Star Lawyer of the Year” award at the Legal Era GenNext Counsel Awards in 2016.
Select Experience
Advised Apollo Hospitals in the structuring of the front-end pharmacy business of Apollo Hospitals and divestment of stake in its front-end pharmacy business to Apollo Pharmacy for a lump sum cash consideration of INR 527.8 crores.
Advised Carlyle Group in its acquisition of approx. 25% stake of Nxtra Data Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited for a deal value of INR 1788 crores, in one of the largest deals in India in data centre business.
Acted for Carlyle Group in relation to the setting up of its pharmaceutical platform in India and in that respect, acted on: (i) its acquisition of entire share capital of Symed Labs Limited held by the Indian promoters of Symed for a deal value of INR 1406 crores; and (ii) its acquisition of a controlling stake in Appco Pharma LLC for USD 47 Million.
Advised Dish TV on its acquisition of and merger with Videocon d2h for approx. USD 2.5 billion to create a leading cable and satellite distribution platform in India (one of the largest deals in the media sector).
Advised Federal Bank in USD 126 million investment made by IFC (a member of the World Bank group) for a 4.99% stake in Federal Bank, which was the first instance of ‘green’ financing in India by the IFC group.
Advised & acted for Fortis Healthcare Limited in the bid process concluding with IHH Healthcare acquiring Fortis in a deal value of over USD 1.1 billion.
Advised Fortis Healthcare in connection with its buy-out of the stake by private equity investors in its material subsidiary, Agilus Diagnostics Limited, in a deal valued at INR 1,780 crores.
Advised and acted for Maruti Suzuki in the acquisition of 100% shareholding of Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in a deal valued at approx. USD 1.5 billion. This is one of the largest transactions in the listed space for the automobile sector.
Advised Mylan Inc. on its acquisition of Agila Specialities Division from Strides Acrolab for approx. USD 1.6 billion.
Advised Ranbaxy Laboratories on its merger with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd worth USD 3.2 billion (largest cross border M&A in pharmaceutical sector). This deal led to various accolades such as the India Business Law Journal – ‘Dealmaker of the year 2014’, SIAN-MENA COUNSEL Deals of the Year and The Asian Lawyer 2015 M&A Deal of the Year: South & Southeast Asia.
Advised Tata Advance Systems Limited on its Joint Venture with Boeing Defence for manufacturing and supply of aero structures for military aircrafts. This deal won the IFLR Asia Award for ‘M&A Deal of the Year, 2016.
Advised Tata Global Beverages Limited in its USD 100 million Joint Venture with Starbucks in setting up of café chains in India.
Advised Zomato Limited on its 100% acquisition of Grofers by way of secondary purchase by Zomato from existing shareholders for approx. USD 575 million.