ANB Legal absorbs Lexentra, adds finance partner with $15B restructuring track record
What's the deal? ANB LegalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has merged with LexentraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a banking and finance-focused legal practice, and brought on its founder Pranav M. Khatavkar as a partner. The move strengthens ANB Legal's banking and finance practice across financing transactions, restructurings, regulatory matters, and cross-border mandates.
Who's joining? Khatavkar has more than a decade of experience across India and international financial centres, advising banks, funds, investors, corporates, and fintech businesses. His practice spans corporate and structured lending, acquisition finance, securitisation, distressed asset transactions, restructuring and insolvency, and financial regulation.
The track record: He has worked on financings and restructurings involving portfolios ranging from $320 million to $15 billion, plus a $113 million capital raise backed by IFC, SMBCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and GMODealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. At Yes BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, he handled stressed asset matters including the bank's roughly $600 million Essel GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and DishTVDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → exposure and the sale of its approximately $7 billion distressed loan portfolio to J.C. Flowers ARCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? ANB Legal wants to expand its banking and finance offering into new jurisdictions. Khatavkar's practice also covers fintech, digital lending, payments, digital assets, and tokenisation, alongside private equity and venture capital investments.
What they're saying: "The merger is going to be a boost to the current Banking and Finance global practice and we look forward to grow the current practice as well as extend to other jurisdictions," said Payal Parikh, managing partner at ANB Legal. Khatavkar said he was "honored and humbled" to join the firm's banking and finance practice.
The background: Before founding Lexentra, Khatavkar worked on the global restructuring team at White & CaseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in New York and held roles at Yes Bank, J.C. Flowers ARC, and Drip Capital.
The signal: The merger reflects a broader push by law firms to build specialist finance capabilities through absorbing boutique practices and the talent behind them, extending reach across borders as cross-border financing and distressed asset work grows.
Read more: legaleraonline.com
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