On the merger control side, Yaman helped secure unconditional approval for Vodafone India’s merger with Idea Cellular Limited (India’s largest M&A transaction), and, more recently, Zomato’s acquisition of a minority stake in online groceries platform Grofers, Facebook’s acquisition of a minority stake in Jio Platforms Limited, Flipkart’s acquisition of a minority stake in Aditya Birla Fashion Retail Limited, and the merger between Linde AG and Praxair, Inc. He acted on securing the green channel approval for Aeroports de Paris’ acquisition of a significant minority stake in GMR Airports. He has previously advised on Walmart’s acquisition of a majority stake in Flipkart (and successfully defended the approval in follow on litigation), Siemens’ acquisition of Alstom’s mobility business, the acquisition of Nokia’s smartphone business by Microsoft, and GRUH Finance’s merger into Bandhan Bank, as well as transactions in the automobiles space (including the capital alliance between Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, and the merger of Fiat with Peugeot), the pharmaceuticals space (including Pfizer’s proposed merger with Allergan, and GSK’s acquisition of Novartis’ vaccines and over the counter drugs business), and the agrochemicals space (including the merger between the Dow Chemical Company and E. I. du Pont de Nemours, the merger between Agrium Inc. and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, and the acquisition by FMC Corporation of the agrochemicals business divested by DuPont as part of the conditions of its merger with Dow). He also routinely acts for private equity investors in relation obtaining CCI approvals for their acquisitions, including obtaining CCI approval for Temasek and TPG for their investments in the pharmaceutical unicorn, API Holdings (which owns and licenses the medical e-commerce brand, Pharmeasy), and for Temasek’s and Broadpeaks’s investments into ANI Technologies (which owns and operates the cab aggregator, Ola).

Yaman was most recently recognised by Chambers and Partners, 2023 as a Band 4 practitioner, in both its Global and Asia Pacific Listings, with clients commenting that, “His competition law knowledge is extensive, his advice is always focused on what’s best for the company, and he effortlessly transitions from explaining legal nuances to providing commercial input.” He was also recognized as a “Gennext Leading Lawyer” in the Legal Era Leading Lawyer Rankings for 2023. He has previously been recognised by Chambers and Partners as an “Up and Coming” lawyer for Competition and Antitrust in 2022, described as being, “very hands-on” and having, “the added advantage of frequent interaction with the regulator”, and in 2021, described as, “a very bright lawyer” with, “very good project management skills”. He was included in the Legal 500 list of “Next Generation Lawyers” for India for 2017 to 2019, and “Next Generation Partners” from 2020 to 2023, and as a “Rising Star” in Competition and Antitrust in The Experts Guides list for 2018 to 2022. He has also been recognised by the Indian Business Law Journal as a Future Legal Leader in 2021, and as a “Future Leader” in “Who’s Who Legal: Competition Future Leaders”, from 2017 to 2023, being, “most highly regarded” in 2018 and 2019, lauded for being, “adept at explaining in-depth legal issues to a non-legal audience” his “management of major merger control mandates in an ‘effective, thorough and calm way’” and his, “clarity of thought and in-depth knowledge of competition laws”.

Yaman regularly contributes to competition law publications and has co-authored India chapters for GCR, “Getting the Deal Through”, as well as for PLC. He has also co-authored articles on Indian antitrust law for a Competition Policy International Publication titled, “The Evolution of Antitrust in the Digital Era: Essays on Competition Policy” in 2020, and a Kluwer Publication titled, “Competition and Patent Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector: An International Perspective” in 2016, and assisted in the editing of the sixth edition of SM Dugar’s Guide to Competition Law, also published in 2016. He also conducts an elective course on competition law and a foundations of legal education course at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and has been an invited guest lecturer at various law universities and online learning platforms across India.

Yaman holds a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Before joining Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Yaman worked for a short time with the CCI in February-March, 2010, and published a paper on leniency programs across the world.

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