During the first half of 2010, Indian companies were involved in a total of 300 M&A deals, up 69% from the same period in 2009, according to a study by Venture Intelligence (http://www.ventureintelligence.in)
The median deal value during H1 '10 (for the 135 deals which had announced transaction values) was $20 million, marginally down from the median deal value of $20.5 million in H1'09, but higher than the $17.75 million in H2 '09, the Venture Intelligence study found. In the largest deal during the period, Bharti Airtel completed its acquisition of Kuwaiti-based Zain's African assets in a deal valued at $10.7 billion. This was followed by Adani Enterprises' $5.48 billion amalgamation with Mundra Port and Abbott Healthcare's $3.720 billion acquisition of Piramal Healthcare's domestic formulation business.
About 33% of the deals in H1 '10 were outbound acquisitions, as against only 23% in H1 '09. Domestic deals continued to be the major contributor with a 53% share.
The most preferred destination for Indian acquirers was USA with 25 of the 99 outbound targets in H1 '10 located in that country, followed by the UK (with 23 deals). The acquirers in twelve of the 42 inbound deals were US-based companies, followed by French firms with seven deals and Japanese firms with six deals.
The IT & ITES and Manufacturing industries accounted for the most number of acquisitions during H1 '10 with an 22% share each. The activity in the Manufacturing industry grew from 19% during the same period last year while the share of IT & ITES deals fell marginally (from 23%).
