Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired former Linklaters partner Arun Balasubramanian to co-head its Singapore-based India group.
Balasubramanian was a US securities partner at Linklaters in Singapore, where he has been based since 2007, focusing on capital markets transactions and general securities advice in India and Southeast Asia.
“The Indian and Southeast Asian markets are increasingly important to the firm’s clients,” said Rob Ashworth, Freshfields’ regional managing partner for Asia. “[Balasubramanian’s] addition to our Singapore office comes as we continue to see it growing from strength to strength since its launch last year.”
Balasubramanian’s profile on Linklaters’ website notes that he worked on two of the biggest initial public offerings in Indian history: DLF’s $2.2 billion debut in 2007 and Cairn India’s $1.9 billion 2006 deal. More recently, Linklaters advised Bharti Infratel on its $763 million IPO in December 2012, which was India’s biggest in two years.
In his new role at Freshfields, Balasubramanian will work alongside Pratap Amin, chairman of the firm’s India group.
On Monday, Linklaters announced that it had re-hired Narayan Iyer, a partner with Talwar Thakore & Associates in Mumbai, and said that he will start working at the firm in August 2013, having joined Linklaters as a trainee in 1996. He was a founding member of the firm's India practice and was elected a partner in 2007.
