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We are pleased to present the January edition of Dealtracker, that captures the deal activity in India in January 2015.

Bite size

2014 was the year in which the global economic recovery took hold according to our International Business Report, not just in in the UK and US, but in some of the European economies hit hardest by the sovereign debt crisis: Ireland, Spain and even Greece showed nascent signs of recovery. However, recent economic, political and social turmoil is weighing heavily on business leaders’ minds as we enter 2015 with confidence slipping, reflecting well-founded concerns about the unevenness of the global recovery.

Retailers and consumer firms are rooting for pro-growth budget that will give spending power to consumers; want clarity on GST.

Sort out tax burdens and ambiguities in the law so that SEZs become ‘make in India’ hubs

Real estate and construction is probably not the first sector that comes to mind when you think about environmental sustainability. The construction process consumes large amounts of natural resources and energy, and can create significant waste. While the progress of development continues to add to our quality of life, the built environment is responsible for approximately two-fifths of global energy use and a third of carbon emissions.[1] This means that, from design to demolition, the buildings in which we live, work and play have a huge impact on the environment.

The newly enacted Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act), which mandates certain classes of companies to spend 2% of their average net profits of the last three years on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, is getting India Inc to incorporate philanthropy and CSR as important strategies for their businesses. Corporates now need to find innovative ways to effectively utilise their CSR funds by undertaking initiatives aimed at promoting environmental sustainability, supporting community-based development, nurturing vocational skills, gender equity and women empowerment, etc.

Cautiously optimistic: that is how I would describe the mood of business leaders heading into 2015. Our most recent quarterly confidence barometer (the International Business Report) found business leaders as positive as they have been since 2007. That’s not a surprise because, in many ways, 2014 was the year in which the recovery really took hold – and not just in the UK and US, but in some of the European economies hit hardest by the sovereign debt crisis. (Ireland, Spain and even Greece showed nascent signs of recovery.)

The global economy has entered another period of uncertainty, with the Greek elections threatening to reignite the eurozone crisis and the dramatic fall in the oil price spooking markets. However, key fundamentals such as strong growth forecasts in major markets such as India, the UK and US, a rising and more mobile world population, combined with rapid urbanisation suggest the long-term outlook for the real estate & construction sector in 2015 is positive.

Bite Size – Recent activity in the food and beverage sector

According to the third edition of Grant Thornton’s ‘The Fourth Wheel’ — a publication on PE in India produced in association with IVCA, PE investment in India is growing steadily since 2009, and stood at over USD 12 billion in 2014 alone.

India witnessed a downfall in terms of value of outbound deals in the year gone by, whereas there was a 35 per cent surge in inbound deals during 2014, according to Grant Thornton’s 10th annual DealTracker report.

Welcome to the 10th annual edition of Dealtracker one of our flagship publications that captures and analyses M&A and PE deal data. It is the principal source of information on deal activity for the Indian market. With your constant support and encouragement, we are happy to present the annual edition that gives our readers an insight into M&A dealmaking, PE investments and sector trends among others.

Domestic companies seem to be shying away from foreign acquisitions with outbound deals seeing a 35 per cent drop last year.

We are pleased to present the third edition of the “Fourth Wheel”, a publication on PE in India along with IVCA who have been our partners in this endeavor from the beginning. This report aims to set out the key emerging trends in the Indian PE industry deal data based on Grant Thornton’s Dealtracker report, and views from experts across leading PE/VC funds and entrepreneurs.

In the year 2010, the Central Board of Direct taxes (“CBDT”) constituted a committee comprising of departmental officers and professionals to suggest Tax Accounting Standards (“TAS”) for the purpose of notification under Section 145(2) of the Income tax Act, 1961 (“the Act”). The CBDT intended to reduce litigation around contentious taxing issues. The committee submitted its first interim report in August 2012 and placed the report for public comments.