Khaitan & Co Advised DWS Group On Acquisition Of 40% Stake In Nippon Life India AIF Management Limited

Khaitan & Co advised DWS Group on acquisition of 40% stake in Nippon Life India AIF Management Limited

The leading law firm in India, Khaitan & Co advised DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (DWS) on its proposed acquisition of 40% of Nippon Life India AIF Management Limited (NAIF), currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited (NAMI), for a consideration of approximately INR 733 crore. The acquisition will be executed via subscription to equity shares issued by NAIF through a preferential allotment (“Proposed Transaction”), marking one of the first foreign investments and joint ventures in the Indian AIF space.

The Proposed Transaction is expected to complete within 12 months from execution of the share subscription agreement (“SSA”), subject to regulatory approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Competition Commission of India (CCI), requisite investor consents for the AIFs managed by NAIF, and fulfillment of other conditions precedent under the SSA. Post-issuance, NAIF will cease to be a wholly owned subsidiary of NAMI but will continue as a subsidiary, with governance, management, and inter se shareholder rights documented in a shareholders’ agreement executed by NAMI, NAIF, and DWS.

DWS and NAMI will continue strategic collaboration on developing and launching passive investment solutions, as well as a global distribution agreement for actively managed India strategies via DWS’ international network. The partnership combines NAMI’s market and investment expertise in India with DWS’ global reach and capabilities.

Khaitan & Co advised DWS on all legal and regulatory aspects of the Proposed Transaction, including legal, funds, and regulatory due diligence, transaction structuring, drafting and negotiation of the share subscription agreement and shareholders’ agreement, and will continue advising DWS on obtaining regulatory approvals from SEBI and CCI, client/investor consents, conditions precedent, and closing-related actions.

About DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA

DWS Group, with EUR 1,085bn of total assets under management (as of 31 December 2025), is a leading European asset manager with global reach. With approximately 5,000 employees worldwide, DWS provides individuals, institutions, and corporations access to comprehensive investment solutions across Active, Passive, and Alternative asset management, delivering targeted solutions across all major liquid and illiquid asset classes.

The Khaitan & Co core deal team comprised Niren Patel (Partner), Vivek Mimani (Partner), Param Gupta (Senior Associate), Shambhavi Sinha (Associate), and Mehu Mohan Singh (Associate).

The Khaitan & Co Transaction team for Corporate / M&A (including due diligence) included Prakruti Shah (Associate) and Raghav Khetan (Associate); for SEBI and AIF-related regulatory aspects (including due diligence), the team comprised Arindam Ghosh (Partner), Siddharth Shah (Partner), Pavi Jain (Partner), Gaurav Malhotra (Counsel), Shashank Patil (Counsel), Siddharth Sisodia (Associate), Shreay Rohit Shah (Associate), and Yash Ramrao Dhikle (Associate); while the Antitrust team included Anisha Chand (Partner), Anshuman Sakle (Partner), Tanveer Verma (Principal Associate), Armaan Gupta (Senior Associate), and Ritika Ghosh (Associate).

The Khaitan & Co Due Diligence team comprised Privacy and Data Protection experts Supratim Chakraborty (Partner), Sumantra Bose (Counsel), and Shramana Dwibedi (Senior Associate); Employment specialists Deepak Kumar (Partner), Archika Dudhwewala (Principal Associate), and Ananya Gandhi (Associate); and ESOP advisors Shabnam Shaikh (Partner) and Anushka Venketram (Senior Associate).

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