Merger & acquisition and private equity deals struck by Indian Inc in the first half of the current year nosedived by more than half in terms of volume to 216 deals and by 66 per cent value-wise at $7.814 billion over the same period last year.
Global accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton on Friday said that only 123 M&A deals were struck in the first half of the year of which 64 were domestic and the remaining cross-border. Of the cross-border deals, 32 were inbound.
During the period ended June, 2008, 269 M&AS deals were sealed of which domestic deals were a minority at 110 deals and the remaining were cross-border. Of the cross-border deals, 51 were inbound and 108 were outbound.
Total M&A deals, value-wise, during the first half of the current year also fell to $4.927 billion as against $16.079 billion during the same period last year.
Private Equity deals in the first half of the current year stood at 93 amounting to $2.887 billion as compared to $6.925 billion involving 185 deals.
Oil and gas sector contributed the highest to the M&A deal value in the first six months of the year at $1.928 billion while real estate & infrastructure management sector attracted maximum PE investment amounting to $1.613 billion.