Vaibhav Suri

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

• Advised the Government of the United States of America on sale of its property ‘American Center’ in Mumbai, to the House of the Abhinandan Lodha group (one of the premier real estate developers in India). Advised on all aspects entailing the vendor’s due diligence, tax issues, bidding process for sale, drafting & negotiations on the transfer documents, and regulatory compliances of stamping & registration. She not only individually handled negotiations with the Lodha team and their counsels, she intelligibly navigated the U.S. Consulate at Mumbai and the U.S. Government through the local Maharashtra laws and requirements raised by the regulatory authorities.
• Advised Godrej Properties in its acquisition of 15 acres land parcel in Sector 103, Gurugram from Microtek Infratech, for development of a group housing project at a deal value of ~ INR 403 Crore. Undertook (a) comprehensive due diligence of the land parcel; (b) opinion on potential impact of the ‘Environment Management Plan’ of Government of Haryana for conservation of the Najafgarh lake (abutting the project site) and ensuing directions issued by the NGT; (c) transaction structuring; and (d) assistance on the sale documentation and regulatory compliances.
• Advised Panattoni India in acquisition of lands measuring 16 Acres at NH 71, District Jhajjar, Delhi NCR for establishing a Grade A warehouse park. It is Client’s pilot project being INR 110 Crores investment in Phase 1 itself, marking its debut in Indian warehousing sector. Client was closely navigated through the entire land acquisition process, comprehensive title due diligence encompassing issues on title, land partition, demarcation, mortgages and encumbrances, lands belonging to restrictive categories (HUF, minor, tenancy lands etc.). Also advised on FDI compliances, change of land use, land ceiling etc. as required for setting up of a warehouse. The deal required extensive negotiations with the counter party (Tata Realty) on the CPs/ CSs and R&Ws, all completed within stringent deal timelines.
• Advised Kotak Realty Fund (one of the premier private equity real estate funds in India) in relation to subscription of NCDs in the project SPV of BPTP group, towards acquisition of lands, payment of statutory and construction development of 7 plotted housing projects of BPTP group on land measuring 70 acres at Faridabad under the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojana (DDJAY) floated by the DTCP, Haryana. Deal Value: INR 200 Crores.
• Advised Radhika Heights in a joint venture with Bestech group for development of plotted colony on ~ 100 acres at Gurugram. Involved in structuring the entire transaction and assisted in drafting and negotiation of transaction documentation. Being the first real estate project for Radhika Heights, navigated through all facets of development notably licensing issues, project development life cycle, commercial arrangement and escrow mechanism for revenue sharing, RERA Approvals, customer issues, etc. The parties were involved in an arbitration dispute, and for an effective settlement the transaction had to completed within tight timelines. The deal is significant to both parties as it is the first real estate project for Radhika Heights and one of the largest for Bestech group in Gurugram.
• Advised ACME Cleantech, one of the largest companies in the solar energy sector with cumulative capacity of more than 5500+ MW and having presence across India. Advised on structuring the acquisition of ~ 20,000 acres in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh on purchase / lease basis and undertook comprehensive title verification of the lands, advised on local land laws & issues including land ceiling laws, conversion, and prior permissions from revenue authorities. The transaction involved strict timelines as the acquisition was to be completed in a time bound manner. Navigated the client through all title issues / red flags, advised and assisted in obtaining local permissions and in documentation.
• Advised ReNew Power in acquisition of agricultural lands at District Bhavnagar, Gujarat for the B2B wind power project (Otha Phase 1-3) having aggregate capacity of 175 MW. The work involved comprehensive review of title documents and record of rights (7×12 extracts, mutations etc.) for last 30 years’ along with applicable provisions under the revenue and tenancy laws dealing with purchase and use of agricultural lands for bonafide industrial purposes and necessary GRs issued by the State Government.
• Advised Benetton India on sale of its industrial land and building in Gurugram to Conscient Infrastructure for deal value of ~ INR 85 Crores. Entire deal was handedly by me providing continuous support to the Client on all aspects including title diligence, regulatory requirements of stamping & registration and document negotiations with Conscient and Argus Partners (their counsel). There were some pending title issues, litigations & acquisition by State Government, and subsisting income tax demand on Benetton, and I successfully navigated the client with minimum exposure on R&Ws and indemnity vis-a-vis the buyer. Deal was successfully completed within stringent timelines of 4 weeks requiring multiple interactions with Benetton legal and business teams along with negotiations with counter party.