The Economic Times

Good Time to Join the Dots, Cross the T’s

The last financial year saw a record level of M&A deals in Indian business. This year promises to be even bigger. So what's driving the surge? And what lessons do these deals offer for corporates?

By Karan Singh

Published on August 25, 2017
min read


This article originally appeared on Economic Times India. We are on the cusp of a broad-based consolidation wave in Indian business. One has only to read the headlines to grasp the heightened level of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity across sectors. These big-ticket deals are driven by emerging opportunities and led by dominant players who are reshaping the industry structure within their sectors. In telecom, the number of service providers has fallen from more than 10 to 4-5. The most recent merger proposed between Vodafone and Idea will create an entity with a combined enterprise value of an eye-popping $23 billion, making it the largest telecom company in India. Among old-economy companies, UltraTech Cement closed its $2.4-billion acquisition of Jaypee Group’s cement assets. Even the relatively young e-commerce sector has been reduced to a two-horse race between Flipkart and Amazon. The last financial year saw a record level of M&A deals, valued at $66.2 billion. This year promises to be even bigger. Incidentally, a majority of 2017 acquisitions have been domestic, rather than cross-border, deals. What is driving this surge? And what lessons do these deals offer for corporates? There are four broad triggers behind the heightened action. Read the full article at Economic Times India. Karan Singh is the managing director of Bain & Company's India offices. He is a leader in Bain's Healthcare practice.

This article originally appeared on Economic Times India.

We are on the cusp of a broad-based consolidation wave in Indian business. One has only to read the headlines to grasp the heightened level of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity across sectors. These big-ticket deals are driven by emerging opportunities and led by dominant players who are reshaping the industry structure within their sectors.

In telecom, the number of service providers has fallen from more than 10 to 4-5. The most recent merger proposed between Vodafone and Idea will create an entity with a combined enterprise value of an eye-popping $23 billion, making it the largest telecom company in India. Among old-economy companies, UltraTech Cement closed its $2.4-billion acquisition of Jaypee Group’s cement assets. Even the relatively young e-commerce sector has been reduced to a two-horse race between Flipkart and Amazon.

The last financial year saw a record level of M&A deals, valued at $66.2 billion. This year promises to be even bigger. Incidentally, a majority of 2017 acquisitions have been domestic, rather than cross-border, deals.

What is driving this surge? And what lessons do these deals offer for corporates? There are four broad triggers behind the heightened action.

Read the full article at Economic Times India.

Karan Singh is the managing director of Bain & Company's India offices. He is a leader in Bain's Healthcare practice.