Indian automobile industry takes inorganic route to support growth cycles

The merger and acquisition deal volumes in the Indian auto space have remained steady with 18 announced transactions in the year to date 2018 pegged at $500 million

Acquisition game

The Indian automobile industry has been opting for the inorganic route to balance investments to support current growth cycles and prepare for future global disruptions, according to Grant Thornton ACMA report — M&A in auto: Shifting gears to be future ready. The merger and acquisition (M&A) deal volumes in the Indian auto space have remained steady with 18 announced transactions in the year to date (YTD) 2018 pegged at $500 million. While average disclosed deal size is $45 million, these deal volumes for YTD 2018 have come on the back of large buy-out transactions by financial investors and overseas acquisitions by large incumbents in the Indian auto sector. While deal volumes pertaining to the mid-market players have been limited, there is an increasing focus on exploring inorganic opportunities amongst this segment on the back of increasing cash reserves and reasonable valuations in the overseas markets.

GDPR compliance

According to Gartner, Inc. many organisations are still not compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation even though it has been in force since May 2018. This is because they have not properly audited data handling within their supplier relationships. Sourcing and vendor management (SVM) leaders should, therefore, review all IT contracts to minimise potential financial and reputation risks. “SVM leaders are the first line of defense for organisations whose partners and suppliers process the data of EU residents on their behalf,” says Yanni Karalis, research director at Gartner. There are two key roles identified in the GDPR: data controllers and data processors. With GDPR already in force, SVM leaders should already have identified any vendor-supported businesses processes that result in either the vendor or the organisation operating as a controller or processor of EU citizen or resident data. Firms can attract penalties of up to four percent of their annual revenue for non compliance of GDPR.