Global Uncertainties Dampen M&A Deal Activity In August: Grant Thornton

Corporate India's merger and acquisition activity moderated in August with 23 deals worth $845 million, the second-lowest monthly deal volume till date amid ongoing global uncertainties, says a report.

The prevailing economic uncertainties resulted in August recording 36 percent decline in terms of number of deals and 49 percent fall in value terms, according to Grant Thornton's monthly M&A Dealtracker. There were 36 deals worth $1,660 million in August 2018.

"Owing to global trade tensions and failure to record big ticket deals during August 2018, cross-border values fell by over five times. However, on the positive side, the domestic M&A values recorded a 55 percent increase over August 2018 on the back of encouraging measures and easing reforms," Pankaj Chopda, director at Grant Thornton India LLP said.

The month of August witnessed only one deal valued over $500 million and one deal valued over $100 million each.

In the first eight months of this year, there were 287 transactions worth $22,855 million, while in the corresponding period of the last year there were 318 deals worth $75,408 million.

The largest deal during August was seen in the energy and natural resources sector, with the Adani-GMR deal valued at $512 million, followed by Air Water's acquisition of Linde India in the manufacturing sector.

Contrary to the previous month, August was dominated by deals in the IT and ITeS sector, pushed by consolidation in the software development and IT solutions segment. The start-up sector remained active after the IT sector with five deals worth $25 million.

The month also witnessed deals in the pharma and healthcare, e-commerce, banking, retail, and media and entertainment sectors, the report said.