India M&A deals record US$ 1.66 billion in April 2013: Grant Thornton

New Delhi: The total mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in April 2013 were valued at US$ 1.66 billion through 39 deals as compared to US$ 1.97 billion by way of 60 transactions during the same period last year, according to the data released by Grant Thornton. There has been a significant increase in inbound deals and this trend is likely to continue in the coming months.

“Cross border deals and in particular inbound deals are seeing strong resurgence. Unilever’s investment announcement preceded the Diageo transaction, which is now in its final legs. These are two significant transactions,” as per Mr Harish HV, Partner, India Leadership Team at Grant Thornton India LLP.

During April 2013, cross border deals were valued at US$ 1,121 million, followed by domestic deals (US$ 488 million) and mergers and internal restructuring at US$ 60 million.

“We expect significant uptick in the inbound arena. Similarly, we are seeing resurgence in outbound transactions and expect to see significant uptick in this area from both, IT and manufacturing sectors,” said Mr Harish.

The deal of the month was Etihad Airways acquiring 24 per cent of Jet Airways for US$ 379 million.

Other major M&A deals in April 2013 include Bharti Airtel, acquiring 100 per cent stake in Bangladesh’s Warid Telecom, followed by Aditya Birla Nuvo selling its carbon black business to group firm SKI Carbon Black for Rs 1,451 crore (US$ 263.70 million) and Qatar-based investment firm Hassad Food buying majority stake in basmati rice company Bush Foods for over US$ 100 million.

“We continue to see Indian corporates focused to divest non-core assets to enhance liquidity such as DLF stake sale in wind power assets for over $ 100 million,” said Mr Raja Lahiri, Partner, Transaction Advisory Services at Grant Thornton India LLP.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) regulatory changes in sectors and government’s push to attract FDI, the Etihad-Jet transaction is good for the aviation sector and we believe that more such inbound deals are expected to play out in sectors such as aviation, retail and broadcasting, added Mr Lahiri.