Arun K Birla

Partner, Tax Department

London

T 44-020-3023-5176

F 44-020-3023-5476

Arun Birla is the chair of the London office of Paul Hastings and vice-chair of the global Tax practice. Mr. Birla is widely recognised for significant experience in tax and investment funds. He provides tax advice to UK and international clients on a wide range of matters including, M&A, private equity, private and credit funds, structured and asset finance, joint ventures, financing arrangements, mergers, demergers, reorganisations, and restructurings.

Recent Representations

Abry Partners II on the acquisition of mobile communications provider Link Mobility Group; and on the sale of cloud computing and security company Basefarm to Orange Group
NJJ Telecom on the acquisition of Irish telecommunications business eir
Monaco Telecom International on the €260 million acquisition of MTN Cyprus Limited, a leading Cypriot mobile phone operator
City Football Group, the owner of football-related businesses including Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, and a minority shareholder in Yokohama F. Marinos, on the $400m investment by China Media.
CVC Credit Partners on the structuring and establishment of CVC Credit Partners Global CLO Management Limited, providing CVC Credit with $600 million of risk retention capital for its global CLO business
The ad hoc committee of existing Tier 2 noteholders on the £700 million capital raising plan for the Co-operative Bank
Intermediate Capital Group on the €5.2 billion Senior Debt Partners Ill, the largest pooled direct lending fund in Europe in 2017
LaSalle Investment Management on the £800 million Real Estate Debt Strategies Ill, the second largest real estate debt fund raised in the UK during 2017
BlackRock on the launch of European Middle Market Private Debt Fund I, a private debt fund focusing on private floating senior secured loans, unitranche loans and bonds for medium sized companies located in Europe
Activum SG on the closing of Fund V, and also on the tax restructuring of five of their funds
Saba Software, a portfolio company of Vector Capital, in its execution of a definitive agreement to acquire Lumesse and Vector Capital on the majority acquisition of Experian's Cross-Channel Marketing business to form Cheetah Digital
Assisting with representations made before the European Court of Justice which led to a successful decision on the VAT treatment of Bitcoin transactions
Conversion of the closed-ended MedicX I Healthfund into a perpetual life fund targeting over £1 billion of commitments
Regularly acts for Starwood Capital, Benson Elliot, Oaktree, and other real estate managers
Regularly acts for CLO managers and underwriters

Accolades and Recognitions

Recommended for Tax by Chambers UK 2020 and Legal 500 UK 2020:

Clients characterise Arun Birla as "an excellent tax lawyer who combines technical excellence with an understanding of the business drivers; he's very responsive and provides excellent service"
“They feel like an extension of their client’s team, and always make the effort to make them feel like they are a priority”
“What makes them special is their deep understanding of the commercial issues and empathy with the client”

"Transatlantic Private Equity Team of the Year 2019" by Legal Week and American Lawyer – for Abry Partners' acquisition of Link Mobility
"Standout" for "Accessing New Markets and Capital" by Financial Times Innovative Lawyers 2019 – for advising Bank of New York Mellon subsidiary Alcentra on the creation of a new investment fund structure, Viaduct
Nominated as "Diversity Champion" by the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2019 (announced 28 November)
£700 million capital raising plan for the Co-operative Bank wins "Finance Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2018
CVC Credit Partners Global CLO Management Limited named "Structured Finance & Securitisation Deal of the Year 2018" by International Financial Law Review
Ranked as a leader in his field in Chambers UK since 2011. Chambers UK 2018 notes that Arun "is reassuringly concise and practical in his advice and has an obvious depth of knowledge". Legal 500 2017 says that Arun '"really understands what a client wants' and has experience in the full gamut of transactional tax work and advisory matters.”

Speaking Engagements and Publications

Regularly publishes articles and has chaired and spoken at a number of tax conferences
Co-authored the tax chapter in Joint Ventures (Fourth Edition, Sweet & Maxwell Publishing)
Authored the LexisNexis PSL guide to securitisations

Professional and Community Involvement

Active member of the UK branch committee of the International Fiscal Association, member of the Alternative Investment Management Association and member of CREFC
Admitted to practice in England & Wales and New York

Education

Oxford Institute of Legal Practice, L.P.C., 1997
Keble College, Oxford, M.A., 1996 (Awarded the Slaughter and May prize)

Rankings & Awards

Named "Transatlantic Firm of the Year" at the British Legal Awards 2020
At the British Legal Awards 2020, hosted virtually by actor Richard E. Grant, Paul Hastings LLP was named “Transatlantic Firm of the Year”, for displaying a key strategy of matching its U.K. strengths with those in the United States. Richard noted that Paul Hastings’ initiatives in employee well-being however are what made it stand out from the rest.
November 19, 2020

Recognized at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2020
Arun Birla was Highly Commended as ‘Practice Manager of the Year’ and the Firm was Highly Commended as ‘Large Law Firm of the Year’ at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2020. The citations note Arun’s commitment to diversity and inclusion; and the Firm’s ambitious approach to lateral hires.
October 15, 2020

Recognized at the Legal Business Awards 2020

The Firm was Highly Commended as 'U.S. Law Firm of the Year' at the Legal Business Awards 2020. The honor was based on our London arm's impressive track record of high-profile lateral hires, such as Steven Bryan from Hogan Lovells. Another highlight included the move of former London office head, Ronan O'Sullivan, to global managing partner, underlying the key role London plays for us.

October 01, 2020

Paul Hastings Wins Award for Managing Complexity and Scale and Ranked #3 in Europe for Legal Expertise by the Financial Times
Paul Hastings has won the award for Managing Complexity and Scale at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards 2019, held in London last night. In the accompanying report, the firm was ranked third among European law firms for Legal Expertise, and recognised as a "Standout" in two categories, "Highly Commended" in two more, and "Commended" in a fifth category.
September 13, 2019

Recognized by Legal Week and American Lawyer as M&A Team of the Year and Private Equity Team of the Year
Paul Hastings was named "M&A Team of the Year (Large Deal)" and "Private Equity Deal of the Year" at the Transatlantic Legal Awards 2019, hosted by Legal Week and The American Lawyer. The M&A deal featured was Teleperformance’s Acquisition of Intelenet, and the private equity deal was Abry Partners’ acquisition of Link Mobility.
June 14, 2019

Recognized by Chambers Global 2019
Chambers Global 2019: The World’s Leading Lawyers listed the firm in 37 research areas and named 59 firm lawyers to its rankings of leading lawyers and law firms adept in complex international work and with strong cross-border capabilities.
February 14, 2019

Paul Hastings Named Finance Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2018
Paul Hastings was named Finance Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2018, held in London on 26 June 2018. The team was recognized particularly for their work on the high profile £700 million capital raising plan for the Co-operative Bank.
June 27, 2018

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Arun K Birla

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