Merger and acquisition activity in India witnessed a significant surge in the April-June period of the year taking the year-to-date tally to $10.9 billion through 130 transactions, says global deal tracking firm Mergermarket.

Deal activity in the second quarter of this year more than doubled to $7.7 billion over the first quarter of 2013 (January-March) when deals worth $3.2 billion were announced.

Moreover there was an uptick in both inbound and outbound deal activity with inbound M&A value jumped 190.4 per cent from Q1 and outbound deals surged 732.6 per cent above the Q1 2013 tally.

“Inbound M&A value jumped 190.4 per cent from Q1 2013 ($2.3 billion) to $6.8 billion in Q2 2013,” the Mergermarket said adding that outbound transactions surged 732.6 per cent above the Q1 2013 tally.

Outbound deals were the flavour of the April-June quarter as Indian firms snapped up $5.2 billion-worth of assets overseas.

Some of the key outbound deals of the quarter include ONGC and Oil India’s acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in the giant Rovuma gas field in Mozambique for $2.5 billion – the country’s largest outbound foray so far this year.

The April-June period also featured Apollo Tyres’ bid for Cooper Tire & Rubber, the largest acquisition of a US target ever attempted by an Indian bidder.

However, despite the strong recovery this quarter, H1 2013 M&A totalled $10.9 billion (130 deals) – the lowest opening half year since H1 2009 ($7.8 billion, 98 deals), Mergermarket said.

The Netherlands-based Unilever’s acquisition of 22.5 per cent stake in its Indian subsidiary for $5.4 billion accounted for 52.1 per cent of aggregate inbound H1 2013 value and consequently, the consumer sector had the highest total deal value, the report added.

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