M&A Deals Jumps 75% In November But Value Plunges: Grant Thornton Report

A total of 49 merger and acquisition deals worth $1.5 billion were recorded in November, demonstrating an impressive growth rate of 75 percent in terms of volume, according to a report.

However, the absence of any big-ticket transaction leads to a 48 percent drop in the total deal at $1,496 million in November compared to $2,885 million in November 2018, Grant Thornton's monthly M&A Dealtracker said.

Total M&A deals in volume terms were 49 last month against 28 transactions in the same month of last year, the report said.

"While the question of recession or no recession' continues to be debated, November 2019 reported 49 transactions aggregating to $1.5 billion. M&A deal volumes in both domestic and cross-border categories exceeded the November 2018 levels. However, the absence of large ticket transactions dragged down the deal s in November 2019," said Pankaj Chopda, Director, Grant Thornton India LLP.

This included only four deals d over $100 million each, together totalling to $1 billion and accounting for 67 percent of the total M&A deal s, the report added.

According to the report, National Company Law Tribunal approval for Patanjali Ayurved's bid ($613 million) for Ruchi Soya was the largest transaction of the month.

Retail, consumer, banking and financial services were the key sectors which attracted maximum M&A traction. Startups continued to be the favourites for M&A in deal volume terms, it added.

The year-to-date deal activity failed to match up to the levels seen in previous years with s falling by more than half of what it was in 2018 by November. Volumes declining by 15 percent.

Manufacturing, energy, start-up pharma, banking, IT, infra, retail, consumer and e-commerce sectors led the deal s, capturing 91 percent of the total overall deal s.

On the other hand, startup and IT sectors continued to drive deal volumes capturing 36 percent of the total deal volumes.

"As the year ends, the long vacation period towards the end of the month does not promise too much action on the deals front. However, it does provide the impetus to come back fresh in the new year to revisit the opportunities left incomplete. Further, with several new opportunities untapped, we expect 2020 to be more exciting on the deals front," Chopda added.