October M&A value 'lowest' in 12 mths

India Inc's shopping spree suffered a setback in October in which merger and acquisition deals worth only USD 650 million were announced-- the lowest monthly M&A transaction value since October 2009.

According to data compiled by research firm VCCEdge, the M&A value in October stood at USD 650 million, a sharp decline from the USD 2 billion witnessed in the previous month.

However on a year-on-year basis, the deal volume as well as value saw an increase.

The highest number M&A deals were recorded in March this year with 72 transactions worth USD 14.35 billion. Previously, the maximum number of deals was in February, 2007 when it touched USD 19.29 billion in 39 deals, the report said.

The average deal amount in October this year was USD 36 million, a nine per cent increase from last month. In terms of deal size, transactions under USD 50 million accounted for 81 per cent of the total volume, the report said.

The most targetted sector in October was the consumer discretionary sector, which attracted 18 deals valued at USD 158 million. However in terms of deal value, financials emerged at the top, recording acquisitions worth USD 369 million through 6 deals.

The largest deal was Fortis Healthcare acquisition of healthcare business of China-based Quality Healthcare Asia Ltd for USD 200 million.

Healthcare sector saw six deals worth USD 265 million. ABG Shipyard's acquisition of 60.2 per cent stake in Western India Shipyard for around USD 64 million was the second biggest deal in the month, the report added.

The other top deal of the month was Suzlon Energys acquisition of 41.25 million equity shares representing 17.1 per cent stake in Pune-based SE Forge Ltd from IDFC Private Equity for a price of USD 42 million.

The top 5 M&A deals accounted for 42 per cent of total M&A deal value in October 10, VCCEdge said.

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