India is likely to see mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worth $50 billion in 2018 on the back of plenty of stressed corporate assets on offer at tempting valuations. The Assocham Year Ahead Outlook observed that India’s M&A transactions witnessed a quantum jump of 170 per cent in valuations and over 70 per cent in the number of transactions in the year gone by on the basis of various estimates. There were a total of 944 transactions (664 domestic and 280 cross-border) in 2017 worth $46.5 billion ($13.1 billion domestic and $33.4 billion cross-border), said the chamber. This was against a total of 553 transactions (358 domestic and 195 cross-border) worth $17.5 billion ($7.2 billion domestic and $10.3 billion cross border) in 2016. The chamber pointed out that there has been a quantum leap in M&A transactions in India with more focus on sectors such as healthcare, telecom, energy, real estate, media & entertainment, banking, insurance, oil, cement and consumer products.

(Financial Express)