AZB & Partners has served as legal advisor to Mankind Pharma on its agreement to acquire Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV) for 136.3 billion rupees ($1.6 billion) from private equity firm Advent International, which has been guided by Khaitan & Co.

The deal will give Mankind, the maker of Manforce condoms and one of India's largest pharmaceutical companies, access to Bharat Serums' products targeting women's health and fertility treatments.

"This strategic move marks a significant leap for Mankind Pharma, positioning it as a market leader in the Indian women's health and fertility drug market alongside access to other high entry barrier products in critical care with established complex R&D tech platforms," Mankind said in a statement.

In securing this deal, Mankind outbid Swedish private equity firm EQT and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) consortium, according to various reports.\

The AZB team representing Mankind comprised senior partner Vaidhyanadhan Iyer, partner Sneha Nagvekar, senior associates Sana Nagar and Karun Jhangiani, and associates Shivam Gupta and Akanksha Khandelwal. 

They were supported by finance partner Nikunj Maheshwari and antitrust partner Bharat Budholia. 

Khaitan’s team advising Advent and BSV included partners Aakash Choubey, Aashutosh Sampat, Sameer Sah, Anshuman Mozumdar; senior associates Ayush Sinha and Sagarika Chandel; and associates Aditi Halder, Ankush Unni, Amogh Pareek, Abhishek Singh, and Arun Kumar.

The acquisition is expected to close in the next three to four months, following which BSV will become a wholly owned unit of Mankind.