India Inc on record $104-bn deal-making spree

New Delhi: India Inc signed 1,149 deals valued at $104.3 billion in the first half of this year, amid global uncertainties, and the country saw $6 billion from 17 IPOs -- the highest values raised in the first six months, a report showed on Thursday.

The figures represent a significant 34 per cent increase in the overall deal volumes, while deal values more than doubled (with a 143 per cent increase) from the same period last year, according to the Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker report.

Driven by HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd's $40 billion merger, LTI and Mindtree merger ($17.7 billion) and Adani Group-Holcim Ltd's $10.5 billion deal, M&A deal values recorded an over two times increase over H1 2021. These three deals alone accounted for 86 per cent of the total M&A deal values in H1 2022.

"Amid macro-economic stress, the overall deal sentiment for 2022 is expected to continue given the support from the government on infrastructure spending, supply-side response and key fiscal measures," said Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth, Grant Thornton Bharat.

"However, corporates and more importantly PE/VCs may employ a cautiously optimistic approach as the impact of the global economic slowdown on the Indian economy becomes evident," Vijetha added.