Mergers and acquisition in the corporate sector suffered a set back in calendar 2003.
The year saw 814 acquisitions aggregating Rs 20,419 crore (Rs 204.19 billion) compared with 974 deals worth Rs 32,819 crore (Rs 328.19 billion) in 2002, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy says in its latest M&A report. The average valuation per deal dropped 26 per cent over the two periods.
Mergers suffered a larger fall with just 282 deals in 2003 against 383 deals in the previous year.
The government's divestment initiative suffered a blow with a Supreme Court verdict that Parliamentary approval was necessary for the selloff of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
In 2002, the divestment process, along with their associated open offers, contributed nearly 30 per cent to the M&A value of Rs 32,819 crore. This contribution dropped to a mere seven per cent of the M&A amount of Rs 20,419 crore in 2003.
Despite the depressed consolidation activity in 2003, certain sections of the industry did forge ahead. In terms of number of M&A deals, none of the sectors outperformed the levels reported in the previous year.
The story on the valuation front is different, with the average valuation in the food and beverage industry, communication services, and information technology segments higher in 2003 than in 2002, CMIE said.
The food and beverage industry saw 83 M&A deals aggregating Rs 1,428 crore (Rs 14.28 billion) during 2003 compared with 94 deals worth Rs 1,217 crore (Rs 12.17 billion) in 2002.
The average valuation per acquisition deal soared 19 per cent to Rs 20.70 crore (Rs 207 million) in 2003. Activity in this sector was essentially driven by deals struck in the beverages and tobacco industry.
The rivalry between the UB group and Chhabria groups, both of which have taken the inorganic path to boost consolidation and increase market share, was the chief driver for the intense consolidation activity in this sector.
While acquisitions were initially confined to the beer segment, the tussle for control of Herbertsons saw an extension to the alcohol segment as well.
The pharmaceutical industry saw average deal valuation skyrocket to Rs 46.88 crore (Rs 468.8 million) against Rs 22.65 crore (Rs 226.5 million) in 2002.
The information technology segment, which includes business process outsourcing and IT-enabled services, saw average valuation surge to Rs 39.16 crore (Rs 391.6 million) compared with Rs 14.47 crore (Rs 144.7 million) per deal in 2002.
"The year 2004 is expected to be favourable for M&A activities, especially if the surge in deals witnessed during the last quarter of 2003 is anything to go by," the report said.
"Multinational interest in India is expected to grow with foreign conglomerates increasing their investment in the Indian industrial sector, either through collaborations with existing Indian majors, or by branching out on their own," the report added.
One sign of the re-affirmation of their commitment to the Indian economy can be seen by the rise in the proportion of foreign partners gaining complete control of their joint ventures in India.
Despite the fall in the number of cases wherein one partner of a joint venture bought out the stake of its co-partner, three-fourth of the 33 cases recorded during 2003 constituted a buyout by the foreign partner.
The surge in foreign acquisitions by Indian companies is another testament to the robustness of the Indian economy, CMIE says.
In 2003, 55 such acquisitions amounting to over $600 million were announced as against 35 deals worth nearly $800 million recorded during the previous fiscal.
The high amount recorded during 2002 was primarily on account of ONGC Videsh's $670 million acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in the Greater Oil Nile Project in Sudan.