Deloitte sees lots of money pouring into India

NEW DELHI: Global consultancy Deloitte has said that merger and acquisition activities in India are expected to be "healthy" and "sustainable" in the near term and a lot of money is waiting to be invested in the country, especially in the energy space.

The global M&A scene is bustling with multi-billion dollar transactions as many companies are flush with funds, after lying dormant during the financial turmoil in 2008-09.

"Deal making activities in India are anticipated to remain healthy in the coming months. In the Indian context, these activities will also be sustainable in near term," Deloitte India's Financial Advisory Leader Avinash Gupta told PTI.

According to him, there is a lot of money waiting to be invested in India and many large companies are looking at the country for making investments.

Sounding bullish on the country's energy sector, he said that more investments are expected to happen in that space.

Last month, London-listed mining entity Vedanta Resources said it would acquire up to 51 per cent stake in Cairn India from parent firm Cairn Energy Plc in a USD 8.48 billion-deal. Cairn India owns India's largest onland oilfield.

Gupta said that more investments and deal-making activities are also likely in the infrastructure and services, financial services and life science and pharmaceuticals, among other sectors.

Another deal announced in August was that of Reliance Industries buying 14.12 per cent stake in EIH Ltd, which runs the Oberoi and Trident hotels and resorts. The deal was worth Rs 1,021 crore.

Globally, many big-ticket transactions have been announced in the past few weeks, including chip maker Intel Corp buying security software company McAfee Inc for USD 7.68 billion.

Others include global fund manager Blackstone Group snapping up American energy firm Dynegy Inc for about USD 4.7 billion and technology giant Hewlett-Packard bagging storage solutions provider 3PAR in an over USD 2 billion-deal.