Slowdown lowers M&As by half in H1, 2019

As a consequence of a host of factors like India’s slowing economy, protectionist policies and legal battles, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) nearly halved to US$ 34 billion during Jan-June’19. The country’s economic growth slowed down to 6.8% in fiscal 2019, the slowest pace of expansion recorded in the last five years. This was accompanied by a decline in the number of deals to 183 from 234 during the same period. Inbound deals were hit too, dropping by 53% to US$ 12 billion; while outbound transactions halved to $1.4 billion in the first 6 months of 2019. According to Mergermarket, private equity buyouts decreased by 46% to US$ 4 billion across 42 deals. Private equity exits shrunk by whopping 93% to US$ 2 billion across 23 deals, as compared to US$ 32 billion across 36 deals in the first six months of 2018.