India Inc's Jan-May deal tally at USD 35 bn due to big-ticket acquisitions

New Delhi: Corporate India announced merger and acquisition deals worth USD 1.89 billion in May, taking the year to date tally to USD 35.44 billion driven by big-ticket transactions, says a report.

According to assurance, tax and advisory firm, there were 36 deals worth USD 1.89 billion in May, while in the corresponding period last year there were as many transactions worth USD 1.83 billion. In value terms, M&A activity registered a marginal increase of 4 per cent over the same period last year.

While the domestic transactions recorded a nearly two-fold increase, the cross-border deal values fell by 49 per cent due to reduced inbound investor interest. During January-May 2017, there were 170 deals worth USD 35.45 billion, registering a significant jump over last year when 204 deals worth USD 13.37 billion were announced.

"All eyes seem to be now on GST implementation and its impact on not only trade and economy, but more importantly on investor interest," Grant Thornton India Partner Prashant Mehra said, adding that since there is now clear visibility on this, we should see good traction in both M&A and PE. Further, with India continuing to be favoured destination among foreign investors, we should hopefully see more inbound action going forward, Mehra added.

During May, the e-commerce sector led the deal activity by contributing over 53 per cent of total transaction value. "This was primarily driven by Flipkart's acquisition of Snapdeal, valuing the latter at an estimated USD 1 billion," Grant Thornton said in the report. "Increasing consolidation is driving deal volumes in the startup sector, capturing 25 per cent of volumes with highest activity witnessed in the on-demand services space," the report said.

May also witnessed some big ticket deals worth over USD 100 million in sectors such as banking & financial services, hospitality & leisure and real estate, the report added.