According to a report in the Financial Times, Adani Group has hired US law firm Watchell, as the Gautam Adani-founded conglomerate tries to fight back against Hindenburg Research, an American investment research firm that has accused it of manipulating stocks and carrying out ‘the largest con in corporate history.’
Also Read | Adani Group braces itself with US law firm to battle against Hindenburg: Report
The report said Watchell was approached by the Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas firm, which is leading Adani Group’s defence. Cyril Amarchand is headed by corporate lawyer Cyril Shroff, the father-in-law of Adani’s elder son Karan. Also, Shroff is a member of the regulatory body SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
Meanwhile, here is a brief profile of the Watchell firm:
(1.) It was founded in 1965 and its full name is ‘Watchell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz.’ The name comes from co-founders Herb Watchell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen and George Katz, former colleagues at the New York University (NYU).
(2.) Headquartered in New York City, it is known as one of the most expensive legal firms in the United States. As per its website, it handles ‘some of the largest, most complex and demanding transactions in the US and around the world.’
(3.) Watchell says it has experience in the fields of merger and acquisitions, strategic investments, takeovers and takeover defense, shareholder activism, corporate and securities law, and corporate governance.
(4.) In 2022, the firm, which has around 1,000 employees, represented Twitter against Elon Musk, when the billionaire tried to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy the social media giant. Eventually, Musk fulfilled the deal in October.
(5.) Earlier, it represented Musk and the board of his Tesla Inc in a lawsuit brought by the shareholders of the EV maker. The lawsuit was over Tesla’s $2.6 billion takeover of SolarCity, a solar panel maker.