Record $82 billion dealmaking spree sees India defy global slump
India saw $82.3 billion pending and completed M&A deals in the second quarter, the highest amount on record.;
Bankers in India recorded their best-ever quarter for mergers and acquisitions while dealmaking elsewhere slows to a crawl.
India saw $82.3 billion pending and completed M&A deals in the second quarter, the highest amount on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's more than twice as much than the previous record of $38.1 billion in the third quarter of 2019. Globally, M&A volume in the quarter reached $827.6 billion, down 8.7% from the same period in 2021.
The surge in India was dominated by HDFC Bank Ltd.'s $60 billion all-stock purchase of Housing Development Finance Corp. in April, combining India's most valuable bank and largest mortgage lender in the country's biggest ever M&A transaction. The move illustrated how India's flagship companies, facing disruptive trends such as the rise of fintech and climate change, are turning to dealmaking as a tactic to dramatically reshape themselves.