M&As hit all-time high; break 2007 record

The total value of announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals involving Indian companies reached an all-time high at $72.4 billion in 2016, up 97.1% compared with 2015, with an 0.8% increase in the number of deals. This is the highest-ever annual period for overall Indian announced M&A in terms of deal value, surpassing the annual record set in 2007 ($67 billion), driven by industry consolidations, restructurings and asset sales, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The average M&A deal size for transactions with disclosed values reached $120 million in 2016, compared with $68.7 million in 2015. Deal activity involving Indian companies this year witnessed 15 deals above $1 billion, compared with only four in 2015, the data stated.

Domestic M&A witnessed the best-ever annual period on record in terms of deal value with $28.2 billion, up 186.2% from 2015 as number of deals grew 8.3%. Total cross-border M&A amounted to $42.8 billion, up 74.2% compared with 2015, driven by a 75.3% and 69.7% increase in inbound and outbound M&A activity, respectively, from 2015. Completed M&A deals involving Indian companies totaled $33.1 billion, up 9.6% in deal value compared with 2015 ($30.2 billion), even if number of completed deals fell 9.4%, the data stated.

Energy and power accounted for majority of the acquisitions involving Indian companies with 29.9% market share worth $21.6 billion, a 254.5% increase in value from last year and witnessed the highest-ever annual period for the sector. This was bolstered by the pending stake acquisition in Essar Oil by Petrol Complex of Singapore, a unit of Rosneft, and a consortium of Trafigura and United Capital Partners in two separate transactions with a combined value of $12.9 billion, according to the data.