India witnesses 166.5% jump in M&As by deal values in 2010

MUMBAI: With the improvement in economic climate, the country witnessed an impressive 166.5 per cent jump in mergers and acquisitions going by deal values in 2010, global intelligence service Mergermarket said on Friday.

At 282 transactions, the number of deals increased 34.3 per cent as compared to 2009 while the total deal value was USD 51-billion, Mergermarket said.

The share of inbound and outbound deal sizes was almost equal at USD 24.3-billion and USD 24.6-billion, respectively, although going by deal count, the number was skewed towards the 123 inbound deals, it said.

Telecom topped within sectors with 16 transactions summing to USD 19.6-billion, representing 38.4 per cent of all Indian deals in value, it said, pointing out to Bharti's acquisition of Zain Africa for a consideration of USD 10.7- billion which contributed a lion's share to the pie.

"India could potentially set a new record in 2011. The inbound deals would be driven by India's strong fundamentals and robust economy, especially in the telecom, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors," Mergermarket's Deputy Editor, Anjali Naik, said.

In the outbound transactions, Indian companies will be driven by need to secure raw materials and will look at geographies like Africa, Latin America, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, beyond the traditional US and Europe, she added.

Rothschild topped within financial advisors for deals with 24 deals worth USD 30.1-billion while among the legal firms, AZB & Partners emerged the top gainer having worked on 63 deals with a total value of USD 31.3-billion.