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Start-ups and the IT sector drove volumes with over half of the M&A deals. October 2021 also saw the birth of five new unicorns and the positive trend is likely to continue
Delhi: In addition to the ongoing rapid economic recovery, India Inc witnessed 221 deals amounting to USD 9.2 million in October 2021. According to the Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker, the month has seen an 11% increase in deal activities compared to September 2021. The volumes have doubled over, almost a 101% increase as compared to October 2020.
“October has been encouraging, both in terms of deal volume and deal value, indicating the continuum in deal activities. While volumes recorded a 2x increase over October 2020, deal values saw a strong 24% increase. The economy is being bolstered by the rapid improvement in high-frequency indicators such as the e-way bills, GST collection, power demand, rail freight and exports growth, etc. The current pace is likely to re-establish economic growth momentum,” said Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.
Multi-fold increase in M&A
The total M&A transaction value stood at USD 3.3 billion across 61 deals, which is multi-fold increase both in terms of deal volumes and values, as compared to October 2020. Positive domestic business sentiment across sectors and global economic recovery continue to aid the overall trend.
Domestic consolidation continued to dominate the M&A segment with 79% of M&A deal volumes. Compared with September 2021, although the volumes almost doubled, values fell by 48%. However, M&A witnessed a marquee deal – Tata’s acquisition of Air India from Government of India for an aggregate value of USD 2.4 billion (73% of total M&A deal value).
Record PE deals
October also witnessed PE funds inflow in Indian companies at USD 5.9 billion, across 160 deals. While the investment volumes almost doubled compared to October 2020, the values saw an 11% decrease owing to reduced average deal size from USD 78 million in October 2020 falling to USD 37 million in October 2021. However, the month witnessed 14 high value investments, including Tata motors’ EV subsidiary’s fund raiser of USD 1 billion.
Start-up and IT sectors continued to drive M&A volumes with over half the deals showcasing a value of USD 391 million. The previous month also saw the emergence of five new unicorns – CoinSwitchKuber, Acko General Insurance (fintech); Faasoos, Licious (food tech), and Vedantu (edtech). It also witnessed one of the largest Series A funding in the Indian start-up ecosystem with CredAvenue raising USD 90 million- a testament to growing investor interest in the new-age companies.