M&A Deal Value in November 2010 reached USD 5 billion

According to data compiled by research firm VCCEdge and released in early December 2010 India’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal value in the month of November 2010 nearing USD 5 billion increased three times compared to 2009. The M&A deal value in November 2010 moved to USD 4.9 billion from USD 1.7 billion over the same period in 2009. The November M&A deal volume actually represented a jump of over five times when judged on a month-on-month basis. In 2009, M&A deals stood at USD 16 billion while in 2008 it was USD 40 billion. The deal count went up to 59 deals as against 41 recorded in the same period in 2009. The survey pointed out that the average deal amount went up from USD 74 million in November 2009 to USD 151 million in November 2010.

Utilities and consumer discretionary were the most targeted sectors that cracked deals worth USD 1.38 billion and USD 1.27 billion respectively. Other sectors which also contributed significantly to the deal value were energy (USD 564 million), financials, (USD 561 million) and materials (USD 507 million). Consumer discretionary and information technology were the most active sectors with 11 and 10 deals respectively in the category of number of deals cracked.

China Huaneng Corp's acquisition of United States-based IntergenInc from GMR Infrastructure marked the largest deal cracked in November 2010. GMR Group had acquired 50 per cent stake in Intergen for USD 1.354 million in October 2008. Sahara India's acquisition of 100 per cent stake in Grosvenor House for around USD 757 million followed closely on the footsteps of Huaneng Corp's acquisition. Essar Group's acquisition of 60 per cent stake in Zimbabwe Iron &amp Steel for a price of USD 500 million was another significant deal of November. The top five M&A deals accounted for 68 per cent of total M&A deal value in November 2010.