It's A Big Deal

High liquidity, quality assets, and hunger for growth have spurred india inc. To indulge in an M&A spree

- Krishna Gopalan

$10.5 BILLION

THE AMOUNT THE ADANI GROUP WILL PAY TO ACQUIRE HOLCIM'S CEMENT BUSINESSES IN INDIA

$109 BILLION

THE TOTAL VALUE OF INDIA-TARGETED M&As IN 2021, ACCORDING TO DATA FROM DEALOGIC

$96 BILLION

THE TOTAL VALUE OF INDIA-TARGETED M&As IN 2022 TILL EARLY MAY, NOT INCLUDING THE ADANI-HOLCIM DEAL

25 PERCENT OF DEALS INVOLVING PE FUNDS ARE FOR THE CONTROL OF A COMPANY, COMPARED TO 5 PERCENT 10 YEARS AGO

OFTEN, IT'S JUST gut feeling. Ask dealmakers how they identify an opportunity and this is the most likely answer. It helps them spot a transaction ahead of time and quickly plan on making that big move. One such instance is the recent buyout of Holcim's India assets by the Adani group.

Narrating the sequence of events, a veteran investment banker says it was clear to him in early 2018 that the Switzerland-headquartered cement major was having a relook at its India business. A year before that, the two companies that Holcim owned here-Ambuja Cements and ACC-independently spoke of considering a merger. Suddenly, everything went cold. The symptoms were all there. As competition was acquiring assets in a hurry, the lack of action at Ambuja and ACC stood out, he says. At that point, murmurs abounded that the time taken to acquire land or limestone reserves had been frustrating for Holcim. In reality, they were merely biding time since a decision had all but been taken. First, in mid-2018, the merger plan was dropped, and, finally, this May, the 70 million tonnes of cement manufacturing capacity that the two companies owned exchanged hands, with the Gautam Adani-headed group sealing the deal for $10.5 billion.