Overview
Arun Birla is the second Managing Partner of Paul Hastings and a Partner in the Tax practice, based in the London office.
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.
Recognitions
- ‘He has a wealth of experience advising clients on tax compliance and structuring relating to corporate transactions, restructuring and investment funds.’ – Chambers UK 2022
- ‘Arun Birla is exceptional. His wider appreciation of the transaction and key commercial drivers see him provide very focused and practical tax advice.' – The Legal 500 UK 2022
- Recommended for Tax by Chambers UK 2020 and The 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
- £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."
- The 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.”
Education
- Oxford Institute of Legal Practice, L.P.C., 1997
- Keble College, Oxford, M.A., 1996 (Awarded the Slaughter and May prize)
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
Engagement & 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
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