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While overall deal volumes grew by more than 50%, values jumped more than double recording the second highest monthly values in the last four years
Delhi: According to the Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker Report, India Inc was busy deal making in May 2022, inking 190 deals aggregating to USD 19.1 billion. The month saw India’s largest-ever acquisition in the infrastructure and materials space - Adani Group acquisition of Holcim’s Indian assets (Ambuja cement and ACC Ltd) for USD 10.5 billion. The month also witnessed Larsen & Toubro Infotech and MindTree Ltd’s merger. Three multi-billion-dollar deals and 12 deals estimated and valued at and over USD 100 million each together aggregating to USD 17.4 billion were also some highlights of the month gone by.
Commenting on the deal activity, Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth, Grant Thornton Bharat said, “Amidst global uncertainties, May 2022 saw a 58% growth in deal volumes and a significant 140% increase in deal values. Start-up, e-commerce and IT, led the deal volumes for the month, while manufacturing, media and entertainment and energy topped the overall value. Auto, retail, education, pharma and agriculture also witnessed high-value deals apart from the aforesaid sectors.”
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape: May 2022 recorded 40 M&A deals aggregating to USD 11.9 billion. With 27% of M&A deal volumes, the start-up sector continued to dominate the deal activity with 11 deals valued at USD 70 million. The IT sector witnessed the merger of Larsen & Toubro Infotech and MindTree Ltd, a marquee deal in the segment. Further, other high-value acquisitions of over USD 100 million were witnessed in the automotive (auto ancillary) and media and entertainment (entertainment) sectors. These high-value deals helped drive sector values for the month. Adani acquiring Holcim Ltd’s India assets Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd for USD 10.5 billion was the M&A deal of the month.
Private equity (PE) landscape: PE investments witnessed record values and volumes for the month of May at USD 7.2 billion across 150 deals. This was 169% increase in deal values, driven by two multi-billion-dollar deals and a significant 81% increase in deal volumes driven by small ticket deals (<USD 49 million) equalling 72% of total PE deal volumes. The start-up sector continued to drive the PE deal volumes for May 2022 with a 60% share of PE volumes with investment values of USD 0.7 billion. Bodhi Tree System leading USD 1.8 billion funding in RIL’s Viacom18 was the PE deal of the month.
IPO and QIP landscape: YTD 2022 recorded 17 initial public offerings (IPO) with an issue size of USD 6 billion, compared to 19 IPOs issues, raising USD 4 billion in YTD 2021. Qualified institutional placement (QIP), on the other hand, saw six issues raising USD 671 million compared to 17 issues raising USD 3.6 billion in the same period last year.