"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
- Consistently Ranked lawyer by Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific Guide (2022 – 2026) for Corporate-M&A and Private Equity practice.
- Consistently ranked by Chambers & Partners Global Guide (2023 – 2026) for Corporate and M&A practice.
- Recognized amongst India’s Top Lawyers and members of the prestigious A-List (2023-2026) by India Business Law Journal.
- Consistently recognised as a ‘Leading Partner’ for Corporate and M&A practice and a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Fintech and TMT in the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific rankings, 2021 – 2026.
- Ranked as a ‘Leading Lawyer’ for Corporate-M&A in the Legal Era Leading Lawyers Rankings, 2024-26.
- Recognised as a ‘Litigation Star’ for Dispute Resolution – Commercial and Transactions by Benchmark Litigation in its Asia Pacific rankings, 2025 & 2026.
- Recognized amongst India’s Top Lawyers and members of the prestigious A-List, 2024-2026 by India Business Law Journal.
- Ranked as ‘Highly Regarded’ in M&A by IFLR 1000 Asia-Pacific Rankings, 2023-2025.
- Consistently been recognised as ‘Distinguished Practitioner’ for Corporate and M&A practice in Asialaw Rankings, 2022-25.
- Recognised as ‘Leading Law Firm Professional’ in Lawyer Power League 2023 by LawWiser.
- Awarded ‘Asialaw’s Lawyer of the month’ award, July 2022.
- Recognised ‘Rising Star’ by Asian Legal Business 2022.
- Ranked as a ‘Leading Lawyer’ in M&A by Legal Era Rankings in 2022.
- Awarded BW Legal World 40 under 40 Elite Club of Lawyers and Legal Influencers of 2021.
- Recognised amongst India’s 50 Future Legal Leaders by India Business Law Journal.
- Earlier, Vaibhav has also been recognized amongst ‘40 under 40 outstanding legal professionals’ by Asian Legal Business in 2019 and ranked as ‘Recommended Lawyer’ by 2019 RSG Report in the area of corporate and commercial laws and awarded ‘Rising Star’ by Legal Era.
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.