Adani surpasses Mukesh Ambani's RIL group firms in 2024 M&A deals

Listed entities of top five groups collectively account for 15.3% of total value

The Adani group, which competes with the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate for top position in merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, outpaced the listed entities of the rival camp last year.

 

It secured agreements worth $6.32 billion as against $3.14 billion of the Ambanis.

 

In 2023, however, Ambani-run entities led the league tables among Indian conglomerates, with deals totalling $8.77 billion, while the Adani group had signed those worth $1.73 billion.

 

While the JSW and Tata groups are also expanding capacity through M&As, it is the Adani and Ambani groups that have been swapping the top two positions since the pandemic, according to the data collated from Bloomberg.

 

Reliance Industries signed the highest transactions in 2020 when it sold stakes in its retail and telecom ventures worth $26.08 billion.

 

Two years later, the Adani group signed deals worth $16.56 billion, including a foray into the cement sector.

 

In 2024, the listed entities of the top five groups collectively accounted for nearly 15.28 per cent of the total, valued at $98.7 billion. The top 10 groups (by revenue) had cornered 16 per cent of the deals. 

 

Private equity and sovereign investors have emerged as key players in the M&A landscape. They signed marquee deals last year, which also saw a revival in deals, with the value of agreements increasing by 18.6 per cent over 2023.

 

“The outlook for M&A in 2025 is promising, driven by strategic growth and diversification efforts aimed at enhancing competitiveness not only in the domestic but also international market,” said Bhavin Shah, partner and leader, private equity and deals, PwC India.

 

In 2024, Bharti Televentures, an unlisted entity owned by Sunil Mittal-owned Bharti Global, acquired a 24.5 per cent stake in the British telecom giant BT group for $4 billion, making it the largest overseas deal.

 

Shah said increased risk appetite among Indian conglomerates, supported by growth opportunities, ease of capital raising through public markets and private funds, credit accessibility with affordable interest rates, and favourable macroeconomic conditions would help in making larger deals. “We expect this momentum to continue,” Shah said.  

 

Elaine Tan, senior manager (deals intelligence), London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), said deal making involving India saw the busiest year ever since records began in 1980 with the number of deals announced being more than 2,700. According to the LSEG data, industrials accounted for the majority of the deals, while health care significantly increased in market share and growth by value.  

 

In June 2024, the Adani group signed two major cement deals. It acquired Penna Cement Industries for an enterprise value of $1.2 billion (Rs 10,422 crore) through Ambuja Cements. A few months later, Ambuja announced plans to purchase 47 per cent in Orient Cement from the Chandra Kant Birla family for $440 million (Rs 3,791 crore). By the end of the year, the group’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises, announced plans to sell 44 per cent in its consumer products’ joint venture, Adani Wilmar, for Rs 18,817 crore ($2.2 billion) but the offer for sale took place last week. In the first nine months of 2024-25, the group invested Rs 77,300 crore ($9 billion) in capital expenditure and would cross $15 billion by March, excluding acquisition, according to a group source.

 

In 2024, Reliance Industries acquired Mahan Energen from Adani Power for $1.75 billion, making it one of the top 10 deals of the year.

 

The JSW group also continued its acquisition spree with JSW Energy acquiring O2 Power from private equity players, EQT and Temasek, for $1.5 billion.

 

The group has also emerged as the top bidder to acquire KSK Mahanadi Power for Rs 15,985 crore but the deal is not closed as yet.

 

Interestingly, compared to the top three groups, the Tata and Aditya Birla groups signed few M&A deals. The Tata group secured deals worth $1.7 billion while the Aditya Birla camp signed agreements worth $1.6 billion in 2024.

 

The combined media & entertainment, telecommunications and technology (TMT) market share accounted for 22.9 per cent of the deal value in 2024. Expansion in various sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, fast-moving consumer goods, and services is fuelling M&As in health care, materials, consumer staples, and retail, Tan said.

 

Sourav Mallik, managing director and deputy chief executive officer, Kotak Investment Banking, said M&As had rebounded in India.

 

“Some of the factors are geopolitical needs, and uncertainty. Interest rates are rising and sponsors are preferring exits via capital markets. We’ve been in the top 10 globally for quite some time now from an M&A point of view. A major significant portion of that came from Indian conglomerates. So the Indian conglomerates are making a strong comeback. The key takeaway is that almost close to, 47-48 per cent of the entire M&A volume came from domestic companies,” said he.

 

(With inputs from Jaden Mathew Paul)