M038;As worth 6.2 bn struck in 2004

Corporate India is on the prowl. Heightened consolidation activity has seen Indian companies record 220 mergers and acquisitions MA or di...

Corporate India is on the prowl. Heightened consolidation activity has seen Indian companies record 220 mergers and acquisitions M038;A or divestment deals worth 6.15 billion during the first nine months of 2004.

In the whole of 2003, there were only 306 such deals worth 4.5 billion, says a study by Bloomberg. All deals in which the target or acquirer is an Indian company are covered by the study.

The size of deals is also increasing. If Calendar 20038217;s average was 14.7 million, this nine-month is was 28 million. Says Rajiv Memani, CEO and country global partner, Ernst 038; Young, 8216;8216;Going for bigger deals is the trend not only in India but across the globe. With economic growth, companies have been taking greater risks8217;8217;.

The top five M038;As so far in 2004 have been ONGC-Royal Dutch worth 600 million, CIDCO-Seaking Infrastructure 367.26 million, Aircel-Hutchison Whampoa 355.64 million, TISCO-Natsteel 283.69 million and Grasim-Ultratech Cement 281.13 million.

Citigroup remained the top M038;A advisory company during the period in terms of total deal amount. It was an advisor for nine deals worth 1.5 billion, including the ONGC-Royal Dutch deal 8212; the biggest so far this year. As a result, Citigroup8217;s share of the market rose to 25.2 per cent in 2004 from 19.4 per cent in 2003.

Ernst 038; Young ranked second by amount, but remained the top advisory firm in terms of number of deals. It pushed through 20 M038;A deals in the first nine months of Calendar 2004 worth 1.07 billion. The company8217;s marketshare in terms of value also increased to 17.9 per cent in 2004 as against 13.5 per cent in 2003. The CIDCO and Seaking Infrastructure deal was the largest put through by the company this year.

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Enam Financial followed next in the pecking order.

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These M038;A advisory firms enjoyed a marketshare of between 14 per cent and 10.8 per cent. The real surprise was Kotak Mahindra Capital, which moved up from number 16 to number 3.

Memani said M038;A activity was concentrated in sectors like IT, telecom, infrastructure and oil 038; gas. 8216;8216;IT has seen the largest number of deals during the year and these companies are increasingly looking for acquisitions abroad,8217;8217; he adds.