Indian companies' overseas merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2015 may at best match the numbers of the past few years, as leveraged balance sheets and not-so-rosy experience in digesting past deals continue to suppress their appetite for inorganic expansion.
In fact, 2015 might turn out to be the dullest year in the past decade if overseas acquisitions by Indian firms do not spike this month and the next, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle (see interactive chart).
However, a few large transactions have pushed the aggregate value of announced deals this year higher compared with 2014. These include Lupin's pact to buy GAVIS Pharma for $880 million in the biggest-ever overseas acquisition in the pharmaceutical sector and Cipla's deal to purchase two US companies—InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc—for around $550 million.
Still, India is way below its previous peak of $29 billion in 2010 and is even behind the average of $8 billion during 2011-13.
To find out what's stopping Indian firms from going on a buying spree abroad, be at the VCCircle Mergers and Acquisitions Summit on November 4 in Mumbai.
