KZ Kuriyan

Kuriyan specialises in M&A transactions, private equity investments and exits, joint ventures and general corporate commercial matters.

Kuriyan assists private equity funds as well as Indian and international corporates on complex cross border transactions in the unlisted space, including private M&A, private equity investments and exits, and joint ventures.

He has significant industry knowledge across a range of industries, particularly in the real estate, logistics and IT/ITES sectors, and acts as counsel for several Indian and international corporates and investment funds on matters relating to transaction structuring, entry and exit strategies, foreign direct investments, overseas direct investments, and general corporate commercial work.

Relevant Experience:

Advised Blackstone Group and Ventive Hospitality Limited, a hospitality asset owner with a primary focus on luxury offerings across business and leisure segments in India and the Maldives, on the consolidation of several commercial hospitality assets held by Blackstone and Panchshil groups in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives into Ventive Hospitality Limited prior to its initial public offering.
Advised Blackstone Group on its strategic investment into and acquisition of Casa Grand Group’s portfolio companies which are developing two large-scale industrial and logistics parks in Tamil Nadu.
Advised Nexus Select Trust on its acquisition of ‘MBD Neopolis – Ludhiana’, a mixed-use commercial project in Punjab comprising of a shopping mall-cum-multiplex and a hospitality asset, the Radisson Blu Hotel MBD Ludhiana.
Advised Prestige Estates Projects Limited in relation to an internal reorganisation of hospitality assets under its subsidiary Prestige Hospitality Ventures Limited prior to its initial public offering.
Advised Chaithanya Projects Private Limited and its Promoters on the 100% acquisition by Lodha Developers of Chaitanya Bilva Private Limited, which owned an 8-acre land parcel in Whitefield, Bangalore.
Advised Accel on its investment into Goodness Factory Living Essentials Private Limited, a company which operates August AI, an artificial intelligence-based health information platform.
Advised Accel and RTP Global on their investment in Firstclub Technology Private Limited, which engages in the business of wholesale trading through both online and offline channels.
Advised Accel on its minority investment into Fabheads as part of Fabheads’ USD 10 Million funding round.
Advised Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA), a global leader in technology solutions for the air transport industry, on the India leg of its acquisition of Materna IPS GmbH and its subsidiaries.
Advised Geri Care Health Services Private Limited, India’s first integrated geriatric health care brand, on its first institutional fundraise from InvAscent, a healthcare and life sciences focused private equity investor.

*Experience listed below are that of the Partner before he joined the Firm

Advised Prestige Estates Projects Limited in connection with the USD 1.5 billion Prestige-Blackstone portfolio acquisition transaction.
Advised ALD Automotive and LeasePlan, subsidiaries of Societe Generale, on the structuring of the India leg of their global restructuring/consolidation exercise after the acquisition of LeasePlan by ALD Automotive.
Advised International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) on the India leg of the global sale of its healthcare data and analytics assets forming part of the IBM Watson Health Business located across approximately 74 jurisdictions to global private equity firm, Francisco Partners.
Advised Prestige Estates Projects Limited in the sale of its minority stake in 8 retail mall assets to the Blackstone Group-sponsored Nexus Select Trust. Nexus Select Trust is India’s first ever pure play retail REIT with a portfolio of 17 shopping malls, spanning 9.8 million sq. ft., across 14 cities, making it the largest shopping mall platform in the country.
Advised Bhartiya Group in relation to the acquisition by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund of approximately 3 million square feet of commercial office assets in Bhartiya City, an integrated township project in Bengaluru.
Advised Embassy Group in connection with its transaction with WeWork, whereby Embassy and WeWork would establish, operate and manage various shared workspaces across India under the brand name of WeWork.
Advised Embassy Group and WeWork India Management Private Limited in relation to the USD 100 million investment by WeWork International Limited (a subsidiary of The We Company) in WeWork India Management Private Limited.
Advised Bagmane Developers in relation to the investment and development of a commercial office project in Bangalore Cantonment, pursuant to award of a tender to Texworth Group by the Rail Land Development Authority.
Advised Deloitte Consulting LLP (US) (acquiring through its Offshore India Delivery Centre – Deloitte Consulting India Private Limited) (Deloitte Consulting) on the 100% acquisition of Ad2Pro Global Creative Solutions Private Limited and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries.
Advised Facebook, Inc. in its first acquisition in India, where Facebook acquired Little Eye Software Labs Private Limited, a mobile software analytics company based in Bangalore.
Advised TVS Supply Chain Solutions Limited (TVS SCS) in connection with the purchase of certain equity shares of TVS SCS by Mitsubishi Corporation, from two existing investors of TVS SCS that are part of the Tata Opportunities Fund (Omega TC Holdings Pte Limited and Tata Capital Financial Services Limited).
Advised TVS Supply Chain Solutions Limited (TVS SCS) in connection with the purchase of additional equity shares of TVS SCS by Gateway Partners, from two existing investors of TVS SCS that are part of the Tata Opportunities Fund (i.e., Omega TC Holdings Pte Limited and Tata Capital Financial Services Limited).
Advised TVS Supply Chain Solutions Limited (TVS SCS) and T. V. Sundram Iyengar & Sons Private Limited in connection with the investment by Gateway Partners (Gateway) in compulsorily convertible preference shares issued by TVS SCS. The transaction also involved (a) the acquisition by Gateway of DRSR Logistics Services Private Limited (DRSR), a company owned by the TVS family members, pursuant to subscription to compulsorily convertible preference shares issued by DRSR. DRSR, through its subsidiaries, held a minority stake in TVS SCS; and (b) the secondary purchase of certain shares of TVS SCS by Gateway through DRSR.
Advised Alpargatas S.A., one of the largest Brazilian footwear manufacturing companies, in setting up a joint venture company with Periwinkle Group for importing, marketing and selling the popular footwear brand ‘Havaianas’ in India as a single brand retail trading business.
Advised Prestige Estates Projects Limited in relation to the investment by HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund – I (HCARE) in optionally convertible debentures issued by Prestige Projects Private Limited.