Deal Street deserted amid global woes

BENGALURU: Global headwinds and cautious investor sentiment have slowed down India Inc’s deal-making activity. Professional services firm Grant Thornton’s May deal tracker shows India Inc closed 106 deals valued at $4. 6 billion, a 45% decline in deal volume and 87% drop in deal value compared to the corresponding month last year.

The retail and consumer sector led transaction values for the month. One of the largest M&A transactions recorded was Godrej Consumer Products acquiring Raymond Consumer Care for $345 million. This single deal accounted for 51% of the total M&A values recorded for themonth. Unlike May last year, which saw four multi-billiondollar deals totalling $31. 5 billion, this May did not witness big-ticket transactions.

Shanthi Vijetha, partner growth at Grant Thornton Bharat, said, “We are currently seeing persistent global macro concerns around inflatio-nary pressures in the US and the eurozone. The global banking sector is already experiencing the impact of higher interest rates because of which global deal-making witnessed high levels of volatility and uncertainty. India is also experiencing a downturn in deal activity compared tothe past year. While there has been an overall decline in the deal activity compared to past years, both M&A and PE volumes have witnessed a gradual month-on-month increase since February 2023,” he said.


The PE (private equity) landscape recorded 84 deals, raising $3. 9 billion in May this year. The startup sector continued to dominate deal activity, accounting for 55% of total PE deal volumes.

Among startups, the enterprise application and infrastructure segment saw increased activity, followed by the fintech and retail segments, collectively contributing to 67% of the startup sector’s volumes. B2B startups accounted for over 52%, raising $96 million.