The acquisition of an American telecommunications company by an Indian corporation has Herbert Smith and White & Case, who acted for the buyer and seller respectively, running for cover.

India's leading provider of international telecommunications and internet services, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSGN), purchased the Tyco Global Network (TGN) for US$130m at the end of June this year.

Herbert Smith and its alliance partners, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe, acted for VSNL and White & Case acted for TGN. The US government approved the sale, with many business and social commentators in the United States criticizing the authorities the approval.

"Normally we love to comment on deals, but with the coverage this has been getting, we are not making any comment," said Steve Lewis, Herbert Smith's managing partner of the Tokyo office.

Herbert Smith was a natural choice to act on the deal, as VSNL's largest shareholder is the Tata Group, India's largest private sector group with an estimated value of US$17bn. The Tata Group is a long standing client of Herbert Smith.

The Singapore, Tokyo and Paris offices of Herbert Smith were involved in the transaction. The Tokyo team was led by Steve Lewis and the Singapore team by managing partner Veronica O'Shea. A number of its alliance firms also assisted, including German firm Gleiss Lutz, Dutch firm Stibbe, Spanish firm Cuatrecasas and Portugese firm PLMJ.

White & Case had six offices involved, including the Tokyo office, where partner Robert Grondine led the team. None of the White & Case partners involved were available for comment when contacted by ALB.

VSNL's acquisition of TGN gives it control of an advanced and extensive submarine cable system over 60,000km long and spread across three continents. TGN has over 250,000 employees worldwide.