M&A 2.0: Can a new mergers playbook simplify the dealmaking process?

The existing rulebook is strewn with regulatory roadblocks, making mergers and acquisitions, especially for smaller companies and listed entities a burdensome process

Calls for easing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are growing, even as the government looks for ways to simplify deal-making. Industry experts suggest policymakers reduce thresholds for shareholder approval, allowing listed entities to merge under a fast-track mechanism, besides easing the process for MSMEs. Capacity enhancement at National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) benches has to go hand in hand with M&A reforms, say experts, arguing that they are currently inundated with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cases. Data from the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) shows that 309 applications, which require the approval of NCLT, were pending as of November 30,