James Grandolfo

Introduction

James Grandolfo is a partner at Milbank and Managing Partner of Milbank (Hong Kong), with over 25 years of experience advising clients throughout India and Asia. He specialises in capital markets, M&A, PE, and leveraged finance transactions. 

In the area of capital markets, James advises issuers and investment banks on a wide range of debt and equity offerings, with particular expertise in India advising on IPOs, follow-on offerings, Qualified Institutions Placements (QIPs), block trade and investment grade and high-yield bonds. He also regularly advises on SEC-registered offerings, privatisations, and liability management transactions. His extensive IPO experience in India makes him a trusted advisor to leading financial institutions and corporations navigating complex international transactions. 

His experience spans diverse sectors including banking, renewable energy, real estate, airlines, hospitality, gaming, TMT, logistics and infrastructure. Through his extensive network across Asia, James serves prestigious banks and financial institutions including JP Morgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, Kotak, ICICI Securities, IIFL Capital, JM Financial and Axis Capital. Prominent corporate clients include Jindal Steel and Power, Reliance, JSW Steel, Hindalco, SBI Life, India Bulls, Tata Steel, JSW Hydro and JSW Infrastructure. He also works with sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities. 

His work has earned him consistent recognition, including Band 1 rankings in Chambers Asia Pacific and Chambers Global. He is recognised by Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a “Hall of Fame” lawyer in debt and equity capital markets, and has been consistently recognised by India Business Law Journal as one of India’s top international lawyers, with repeated inclusions on its prestigious “A-List.”