India's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity remained strong in the first half of 2025, with total deal value touching $61.3 billion, a new report said on Wednesday.
This marks a 50 per cent jump compared to the same period the previous year and is the highest first-half total since 2022, according to the latest India Investment Banking Review by LSEG.
The report also showed that the number of M&A transactions rose by 9 per cent, signalling continued market momentum.
This growth was driven by domestic consolidation, energy transition efforts, and strategic portfolio realignments.
Financial sponsors played a key role, particularly in sectors like insurance, technology, and healthcare.
Elaine Tan, Senior Manager at LSEG Deals Intelligence, said India's M&A growth is being powered by a mix of factors, including the country's push for renewables and structural changes in key sectors.
"Energy & Power led the way with $20.5 billion in deals -- a more than 16-fold jump from last year," she said.
Investment banking fees from Indian operations reached $653.8 million in the first half of 2025, up 21 per cent from a year ago.
Fees from equity capital market (ECM) underwriting stood at $272.7 million, while debt capital market (DCM) underwriting earned $131.7 million.
Syndicated lending fees surged 66 per cent to $90.1 million, and M&A advisory fees increased 56 per cent to $159.3 million.
Domestic M&A was particularly strong, rising 138 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $44.8 billion -- the highest since 2022.
Meanwhile, inbound M&A fell to a nine-year low at $10.1 billion, while outbound M&A grew 74 per cent to $5.8 billion.
The United States remained the most active country for both outbound and inbound cross-border deals with India.
Private equity-backed M&A deals reached $11.6 billion, an 85.7 per cent jump from last year.
Among sectors, energy and power led the way with $20.5 billion in deals, making up 33.4 per cent of total activity.
Financials and healthcare followed, contributing $8.8 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively, as per the report.
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