India Inc's 2009 deal tally dives to $24bn

India Inc's deal making saw a sharp decline in 2009 with just $24 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions and private equity deals taking place, but 2010 is likely to be a year of "opportunity," according to a report by a consultancy firm.

The overall value of deals (M&As and PEs) announced during 2009 was $24.01 billion through 590 transactions, global consultancy firm Grant Thornton said in its 2009 annual issue.

"The year 2009 was a year of global economic uncertainties. We saw the M&A volume decline, private equity investors were happier to wait and watch than invest...," Grant Thornton specialist advisory services partner CG Srividya said here today.

Srividya further added, "we see 2010 unfolding into a year of opportunity. We expect to see a significant but carefully planned increase in activity in cross border deals as well as private equity investments in 2010."

Though big-ticket deals like Tata-Corus and Hindalco-Novellis were absent from the list in 2009, yet India Inc's resilience amid slump was evident from some cancelled multi-billion deals such as Bharti-MTN, Sterlite-Asarco.

"Though these deals may have got cancelled, they clearly indicate the appetite that India Inc has for deal making," the report added.