Mumbai: The value of mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals involving Indian firms announced during the fist half of 2017 has reached $34.3 billion, up 58.9 per cent compared to the same period last year as the total number of announced deals increased 9.1 per cent.
The spurt in M&A transactions during the January-June period was mainly driven by cross border deals, which was up 151 per cent.
According to data compiled by Thomson Reuters, the total value of the M&A deals announced during the first half of this calendar is the highest since 2010 ($39.0 billion). The average M&A deal size for transactions with disclosed values climbed up to $95.9 million during the period as against $73.3 million reported during last year driven by the $11.6 billion Idea-Vodafone merger.
The domestic M&A activity saw a 20 per cent dip in value at $9.1 billion though the number of such transactions increased 24.1 per cent.
However, the total cross border M&A totalled $24.1 billion, up 151.3 per cent in value compared to the first half of 2016. The inbound M&A activity witnessed a triple-digit percentage increase in value to $22.4 billion while the outbound M&A activity slowed down 60.7 per cent to $1.7 billion from the comparative period last year.
The telecommunications sector accounted for majority of the acquisitions involving Indian firms with 41.5 per cent share in total M&A worth $14.2 billion. In March, Vodafone Group agreed to merge its India assets with the mobile business of Idea Cellular for an estimated $11.6 billion, through a joint venture. Financials and industrial sectors captured 16.8 per cent and 6.8 per cent of the total deal activity.
