M&A activity robust, value jumps 37% in first 9 months

Mumbai: Indian companies continued to do brisk deals in 2025 with mergers & acquisitions (M&A) values up 37% year-on-year to about $26 billion across 649 transactions in the first nine months, according to a study by a leading professional services firm.

The momentum in deals continued despite geo-political flux, showcasing sustained investor confidence and cementing India's position as one of the top transaction markets.

"As we analyse the M&A landscape for Q3 2025, both PE and M&A have seen a rebound from the previous quarter. The remarkable $26 billion in deal value, fuelled by strategic big size transactions across key sectors, highlights robust investor confidence," said Amit Khandelwal, managing partner, strategy and transactions, EY India and Africa region.


Among the biggest deals is the Gulf investment in India's private banking, a highly regulated sector.

"One of the most remarkable deals in Q4 2025 is the announced acquisition of RBL Bank by Emirates NBD, the largest foreign direct investment transaction in the Indian financial services sector till date, exemplifies the increasing attraction of the sector," Khandelwal said. "With Indian corporates maintaining healthy balance sheets, we expect increasing cross-border opportunities, further strengthening our prominence in the global M&A arena."

The third quarter of 2025 underscored India's transactional strength. According to the latest EY India M&A report, total deal value surged to $26 billion up 19% sequentially and 37% as compared to Q3 2024,

In the third quarter of 2025, India logged 280 M&A deals, most of them homegrown with 203 domestic transactions, while outbound deals totalled 41 and inbound deals came in at 36.