Reflecting the general weakness in the economy, mergers & acquisitions (M&A) involving domestic companies were down by 11.5 per cent to $31.5 billion in the year just gone—by, the lowest since 2009 when it had stood at $21.5 billion.

According to data complied by Thomson Reuters, the number of deals also declined to 12.6 per cent to 967 from 1,107 in 2012.

During the fourth quarter of 2013, overall M&As totalled $7.1 billion, a 28.5 per cent sequential increase over Q3, but a decline 29.8 per cent from Q4 year—on—year.

The report also said the average M&A size climbed to $76.1 million, as more deals were announced above $1-billion mark, compared to $73.5 million in 2012.

Meanwhile, the economic slump had a larger impact on domestic M&As which plunged 69 per cent to $5.2 billion in the year, which is the lowest since 2004 when it stood at $2.0 billion.

The bulk of domestic activities were on the materials sector with deals worth $1.5 billion constituting 29.4 per cent of the total domestic M&As.

However, total across the board, M&As grew a healthy 56.8 per cent to $24.7 billion compared over 2012, driven by a 43.5 and 83.1 per cent increase in the inbound and outbound M&As, respectively.

Completed M&A deals involving domestic companies totalled $29 billion, up 49.5 per cent from $19.4 billion in 2012.

Energy and power sectors lead the M&A street with 21.1 per cent market share or worth $6.7 billion, which is a whopping 173.3 per cent increase over 2012.

The second slot was occupied by the healthcare players, capturing 15.8 per cent of the total with $5 billion worth of deals, up 24.5 per cent from the previous year.

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