600-700 Indian companies acquired annually since 2010: CII-PwC report

As many as 600-750 Indian companies have been acquired annually over the last decade with an average transaction size of Rs 200 crore, says a report. According to the CII-PwC report 'Value Creation: Laying the Foundation for Mergers and Acquisitions', more than 3,400 Indian companies, both in public and private sectors, have been active in M&A over the last decade (2010-2018).

"Of the more than 6,000 M&A transactions (cumulative, FY10-18), 900 have been done by the current BSE 500 companies. While transactions by BSE 500 companies account for only 15 per cent of total M&A volume, they comprise more than 52 per cent by value," the report said.

This indicates that larger companies have been acquiring larger targets (3-5x the average deal size) compared to the overall group, it added.


It further said: "What is also interesting to note is that M&A trends (number and average value of transactions) have been similar for BSE 500 as well as other companies, indicating a close linkage of M&A with macro-economic and sector trends".

Hiten Kotak, Partner, PwC India said that with increasing number of companies actively looking at M&A as a medium to achieve growth, the key to create value lies in having in place a well-thought target identification approach, carrying out a comprehensive diligence process, having an optimal transaction structure and ensuring a systematic integration process.

The CII-PwC study also noted that India has seen M&A activity in excess of USD billion 123.7, 182.6 and 348.3 over the last three, five and ten years, respectively, representing an annualised growth of 13.2, 13.7 and 4 per cent, for the respective periods.

At the same time, inbound M&A accounted for 25, 23 and 29 per cent of the overall foreign direct investments into the country.

M&A in 207-18, alone accounted for 6 per cent of the aggregate gross capital formation.

Pertinent to note is that the growth in value of M&A deals in first quarter of the current fiscal grew nearly 10 fold as compared to the same period last year, while GDP registered a 7.3 per cent growth over last year, it added.