Zomato Gets Ex-L&L Delhi Partner Damini Bhalla as General Counsel in the Lead-Up to Its $650 mn IPO Next Month

Damini Bhalla, formerly a Partner with L&L Partners, is said to join the Indian food delivery startup, Zomato Pvt, as General Counsel. Bhalla is an expert in merger and acquisitions and private equity transactions. She was also a part of the law firm’s funds practice.

Some of Bhalla’s notable deals include Power Finance Corporation’s $2 billion buyout of Rural Electrification Corporation. An alumna of Hyderabad’s National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Bhalla is also said to have worked with the Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance in their London office.

Her joining is likely to further shore up the e-commerce company’s in-house legal team as it reportedly plans to file a draft prospectus for its initial public offering that is expected to raise about $650 million by April. 

Founded by Pankaj Chaddah and Deepinder Goyal in 2008, Zomato has seen tremendous growth over the years. Backed by noted investors such as China’s Alibaba group, Sequoia Capital, Temasek and Info Edge—Zomato has further raised US$250 million from five investors, including Kora Management, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Tiger Global Management, at a valuation of US$5.4 billion in the last month. 

Zomato had acquired its rival Uber Eats last year in an all stock deal, giving Uber Eats 10% of the combined business.