Scotland, Canada and Singapore feature on industry’s shopping list
NEW DELHI: India Inc’s merger and acquisition spree is no more restricted to the US and the UK alone as it finds its way to newer offshore horizons like Scotland, Canada and Singapore.
According to data compiled by global consultancy firm Grant Thornton, the volume of M&A deals by Indian companies in countries like Brazil, Scotland, Netherlands and Canada is greater than that in the UK.
The value of the nine deals in the UK clinched by Indian firms so far this year stands at just $58.50 million, while India Inc acquired four companies in Canada for a total of $166.70 million, one deal in Scotland for $80 million and another in Brazil for over $33 million.
Indian companies have also spread their wings to Singapore with six deals worth $154.88 million so far this year and in the Netherlands with three deals for $28 million.
However, the United States remained favourite for Indian companies this year with 35 deals worth $1,586.38 million in the January-October period this year. Hero Group acquired Scotland-based Telecom Service Centres for $80 million, Subex Azure had acquired Canadian Syndesis Ltd for $164.50 million and Teledata Infomatics had made a deal worth $45 million with Singapore-based Soltius Pte.
The largest proportion of outbound deals was made in North America which contributed close to 83 per cent of all outbound deals.
In terms of country-wise contribution, the US alone accounted for about 75% of all outbound deals, followed by Canada and Singapore at 7.90% and 7.34% respectively, the Grant Thornton report said.
In the first ten months of 2007, there were 305 cross-border deals with an announced valued of about $47.18 billion.
The outbound deals have grown to a whopping $31.70 billion this year so far from $9.9 billion in 2006.
Inbound deals have grown from $5.4 billion in 2006 to $15.48 billion so far this year.
Domestic deals have grown in volume to 275 so far this year from 214 in 2006.
However, the announced deal value has declined to $2.67 billion in the first ten months this year from $4.5 billion in 2006.
