Indian firm Crawford Bayley & Co has been successful in its tender to provide legal services on the follow-on public offering (FPO) of steel maker SAIL.

The FPO, which is expected to be launched in January 2011 and raise up to 8000 crore (US$1.8bn), is part of an Indian government program to partially privatise a number of blue-chip state-owned companies. The Indian government currently holds an 85% stake in SAIL—this will be reduced to 65% after the FPO.

Crawford Bayley was appointed to advise the company on the first phase of the company’s 20% share sale program after a competitive tender process in which it bested bids from Amarchand & Mangaldas, Luthra & Luthra, FoxMandal and S&R Associates.

Earlier this year, the firm was appointed legal adviser on another disinvestment deal—the government’s sale of its 8.38% stake in the country’s largest iron-ore miner, National Mineral Development Corporation (NDMC). In this US$2.2bn deal, Crawford Bayley worked alongside French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel.ALB

Other related stories:

• Fox Mandal Little law firm news
• CC senior associate joins Luthra partnership (20 May 2010)
• Amarchand Mangaldas appointed advisors to Satyam; Luthra denies association (19 Jan 2009)