Christopher Rao
Partner | Bengaluru
Practice Area
- M&A
- Private Equity
- Venture Capital
Industry Sectors
- Information Technology
- Financial Services
Education
- National Law School, Bengaluru (1996)
Christopher is a dual-qualified lawyer (India and New York) and a Partner in K Law’s Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Venture Capital practices. He advises global corporations, private equity and venture capital funds, and high-growth technology companies on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures and corporate restructurings.
Christopher has extensive experience advising on complex transactions across technology and enterprise software, healthcare and life sciences, advanced manufacturing and mobility, consumer platforms, and financial services. His practice frequently involves multi-jurisdictional transactions, high-growth venture-backed companies, and strategic investments by global funds and multinational corporations.
Prior to joining K Law, Christopher worked at Khaitan & Co. and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
Advised Ola Electric Mobility on multiple fundraising rounds - including Series A - from marquee investors such as SoftBank, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Hyundai, and Kia.
Advised Bessemer Venture Partners on multiple investment rounds into PharmEasy (an e-commerce platform for delivery of pharmaceutical products and medicines).
Advised General Atlantic on the acquisition of Hexagram Fintech through its portfolio company, Kfin Technologies.
Advised Active AI and its promoters on their acquisition by GupShup (a California-based conversational messaging platform), managing exits for investors including Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures, and Chiratae.
Advised the Coats Group (a UK-based leading industrial thread manufacturer) on acquiring Threadsol and its Indian subsidiary, Intellosol.
Advised Akna Medical (a tech-enabled supply chain platform for the healthcare sector) on its acquisition by PharmEasy, as well as its earlier fundraise from LGT Lightstone Aspada.
Advised Sumitomo Corporation (a Japan-based trading conglomerate) on its joint venture with the Krishna Group for a large-scale housing project in Gurugram, India.
Advised Immuneel Therapeutics (a cancer treatment and research company) and its founder, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, on investments from Eight Roads, F-Prime, True North, and Khosla Ventures.
Advised Tata Capital Healthcare Fund on its investment into Deeptek Inc (a Pune-based AI-healthtech company that develops AI-powered radiology/imaging workflow solutions).
Christopher has authored several articles and thought leadership pieces on corporate law and regulatory developments, published in leading legal and industry platforms, including the following:
- Karnataka State Bar (India)
- New York State
- LL.M, Securities and Financial Regulations, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC (2014)
- B.A. LL.B, School of Law, Christ University, Bengaluru (2011)
- Featured in the Asian Legal Business (ALB) India Rising Stars list (2023) published by Thomson Reuters
- Recommended by The Legal 500 for Corporate, M&A, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and TMT.