India to see smaller takeovers: UBS

Vodafone Group Plc's $11 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd is unlikely to be eclipsed as India's biggest takeover any time soon as slowing profit growth curbs the size of deals, UBS AG Chief Financial Officer Clive Standish said.

"Merger activity in India is clearly strengthened by the kind of corporate earnings we've seen in previous years, corporate earnings are slowing from higher rates," Standish told reporters in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

"Mergers in India will continue to be active, though we're unlikely to see deals the size of the Vodafone acquisition because it (the market) does not exist," he said.

The fastest pace of economic growth in two decades has lifted corporate profits in India, driving a record $49 billion of takeovers and spurring companies to sell stock. UBS is the top-ranked takeover advisor in India after helping Newbury, England-based Vodafone purchase Hutchison Essar.

UBS, Europe's largest bank by assets, applied for a license three years ago with the Reserve Bank of India, the nation's central bank, to offer fixed-income and wealth-management services, Standish said.

The Swiss bank hopes to get regulatory approval this quarter for its acquisition of Standard Chartered Plc's Indian mutual fund management unit, he said.

Zurich-based UBS in January agreed to pay 147 million Swiss francs ($121 million) for the Standard Chartered unit to add clients in an economy growing at triple the pace of Europe.