Listed firms power India's M&A boom

BIG-TICKET ACQUISITIONS HIGHLIGHT SHIFT TOWARD LISTED COMPANIES ACROSS SECTORS

- MAHESH NAYAK

INDIA'S M&A LANDSCAPE has decisively shifted towards the public markets. In CY2025, listed companies accounted for nearly one-third (30%) of all acquisitions, up from 23% a year earlier, signalling a clear shift in dealmaker preference.

The trend is even more pronounced at the top end — eight of the 14 largest transactions, worth a combined $39.5 billion, involved listed entities, underscoring their growing dominance in big-ticket dealmaking.

“Transparency, liquidity, and valuation clarity have seen growing investor preference for listed companies,” said a senior official at a domestic investment bank. Adding further, Sourav Mallik, MD and deputy CEO of Kotak Investment Banking, said, “Listed M&A continues to gain traction, and we expect this trend to continue,’ indicating the growing comfort of investors with acquiring publicly traded businesses.