Small is big for PEs, firms as M&As rise to $45.4 bn in H1

Health care, retail emerge favourites as big-ticket transactions remain subdued

- DEV CHATTERJEE

India's mergers & acquisitions (M&As) market recorded deals worth $45.44 billion in the first half of 2025, up nearly 3.3 per cent from a year ago, even as ultra large-ticket transactions remained subdued.

During the first half, the 7.1 per cent rise in deal count to 1,614 signals continuing appetite among domestic conglomerates and private equity (PE) funds for mid-sized and smaller assets.

The healthcare, infrastructure, and financial services sectors emerged as key drivers.

This comes even as overall value trailed the post-pandemic highs of 2022, when first half (H1) deal making had peaked to over $135 billion.

During the first half of this year, the largest deal was New Mountain Capital's $2 billion acquisition of Access Healthcare Services, a Chennai-based revenue cycle management firm. It underscores the growing attractiveness of healthcare outsourcing, driven by US demand and India's tech-enabled service base.