The year 2007 has undoubtedly been a landmark year for India Inc., with big-ticket Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As). Indian corporates with a strong urge for growth are in the race for M&A deals. Having established in a very competitive domestic market, they are seeking new markets and going abroad. In the last two years, the remarkable move by plenty of Indian companies to overtake business abroad certainly signals a new level of participation by the Indian firms in global business.
The total value of M&A ticker during 2007 showed the impressive figure of $70 bn, including private equity transactions, touching a whopping $72.2 bn. The value was spread over 1,070 transactions, a jump of about 156% over the previous year. The value of private equity transactions in India announced at the end of 2007 crossed $15.7 bn, spread over 389 deals, representing a growth of about 98% in value terms over 2006. According to research firm Grant Thornton, corporate India spent more than $40 bn on global M&As alone in the last two years, compared to $10.84 bn on domestic acquisitions. While sectors like automotive, banking, IT and pharma significantly participated in M&A deals earlier, in 2007, metals, power energy, real estate and infrastructure and telecom dominated the show. |
