Indian deal-making activity witnessed its third consecutive year of decline in the first nine months of each year from 2022 to 2024, LSEG Data and Analytics said in its investment banking review.
The deal value so far this year totalled $57 billion, down by a fifth from a year ago, while number of announced deals fell 5 per cent year-on-year, it said.
India-involvement deals targeting technology, media and entertainment, and telecommunications (TMT) accounted for 30 per cent of the deal value so far this year, amounting to $16.8 billion, almost double the amount announced during the same period last year.
Target India M&A activity reached $51.1 billion, down 23 per cent compared to last year. Domestic M&A activity at $29 billion was down 41 per cent.
Inbound M&A, however, rose 27 per cent from a year ago to $22.1 billion. Outbound M&A activity reached $5.2 billion, up 5 per cent.
Geographically, the US was the most active nation doing cross-border deals with India – both as a target for outbound and as an acquiror for inbound activity.
The majority of the deal-making activity involving India targeted the financials sector, which totalled $7.7 billion, down 73 per cent in value from the comparative period last year and accounted for 13.5 per cent of the market share. Industrials totalled $7.6 billion, down 19 per cent from the first nine months of 2023, capturing 13.4 per cent of the market share.
High technology, which saw the greatest number of deals, rounded out the top three sectors with 12.9 per cent market share, as deal value totalled $7.3 billion, up 22 per cent from a year ago.
Private equity-backed M&A in India amounted to $8.4 billion, down 18 per cent from a year ago, and the lowest total for the first nine months since 2017.
The Viacom18-Star India acquisition, Cartica Acquisition-Nidar Infrastructure acquisition and Brookfield’s acquisition of the Indian assets of American Tower Corp were the top three deals of the year so far, aggregating to $8.5 billion in value.
Investment banking fees
Fees earned by investment banks saw a 15 per cent decline in the period under review at $842 million, due to fall in M&A advisory fees and syndicated lending fees.
However equity capital market underwriting fees more than doubled to $471 million, though debt markets underwriting fell 4 per cent.
Kotak Mahindra earned the most fees at $61.8 million, accounting for over 7 per cent of the total.
Equity, Debt issuances
India’s equity capital markets hit a record high and raised $49.2 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up 115 per cent compared to a year ago, surpassing the annual record set in 2020 by proceeds. Number of ECM offerings also saw a 61 per cent increase year-on-year.
Primary bond offerings from India-domiciled issuers raised $64.6 billion down 4.7 per cent in proceeds compared to the same period last year, making it the lowest first nine months total since 2022