Annual Dealtracker 2023

Key highlights of the publication

• India Inc. remained active, witnessing 2,007 M&A and PE deals worth USD 127 billion, although this is a 6% decrease in the deal volumes over 2021.
• The year witnessed 11 multi-billion-dollar deals amounting to USD 82.5 billion and 97 deals valued between USD 100 million and USD 999 million, amounting to USD 26.2 billion.
• While domestic consolidation dominated the M&A deal space, recording 355 deals valued at USD 70.7 billion, outbound M&A activity saw record deal values to date amounting to USD 17.9 billion across 61 deals.
• The deal making in 2022 was led by the start-up, e-commerce and IT sectors which constituted 74% of the deal volumes.

M&A snapshot

• The M&A activity in India touched a record of USD 91.4 billion, driven by seven multi-billion-dollar deals. These high value deals constituted 84% of M&A values.
• Start-ups and IT sector led the volumes accounting for 44% of total volumes, while the BFSI and IT sectors topped the charts with the HDFC and HDFC Bank merger (USD 40 billion) and the L&T and Mindtree merger (USD 17.7 billion).
• Deal activity in the energy sector was seen in the renewable segment driving deal values up to USD 4.2 billion. While 2022 witnessed a drop in deal values and volumes for the education sector by 88% and 18%, respectively, the transport and logistics sector saw an increase of 141% in deal values led by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel's acquisition of Essar Group's port assets with an 80% increase in volumes.

PE snapshot

• PE/VC segment recorded 1,530 deals worth USD 35.4 billion. While this accounted for 76% of overall deal volumes, absence of big-ticket investment led to a 26% decline in funding values.
• Despite being the leading sector in volumes and values, the start-up sector saw a downtrend in 2022 compared to 2021 owing to the absence of big-ticket transactions due to the conservative approach opted by the investors amidst the global uncertainty.
• The e-commerce and IT sector followed in terms of volumes, and these three sectors accounted for 80% of total deals this year. On the values front, start-ups, e-commerce, banking and financial services dominated and accounted for 48% of value, amounting to USD 17.1 billion.
• Agriculture volumes more than doubled, with nearly a three-fold increase in values over the last year driven by investment in the agricultural services segment. The sector saw three transactions above USD 100 million.
• The automotive sector saw significant growth in volumes from six deals in 2021 to 24 deals in 2022 worth USD 427 million, with professional services seeing a 56% increase in volumes and a 23% increase in values.