India to see robust deal activity in Q1 2025, quick commerce a bright spot

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): There is a recent uptick in deal activity in the Indian market which will be better visible in the first quarter of 2025, a report showed on Tuesday.

As the year draws to a close, deal activity is expected to remain subdued to moderate, with several transactions likely to be pushed to Q1 2025, according to Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker.

“Quick commerce fund raising activity headlined in November, which otherwise witnessed a subdued activity as deals have been delayed/ postponed to 2025,” said Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat.

“There is a recent uptick in deal activity in the market, but expected to be announced in Q1 2025. Hence, anticipate moderate deal activity in December too, but a good start for the new year 2025 in January,” she added.

According to the report, November saw 163 transactions totalling $10.8 billion. The quick commerce space remained a bright spot, with notable fundraises by Zepto, Swiggy and Zomato.

The mergers and acquisitions landscape saw 58 deals at $1.8 billion. The infrastructure sector stood out, accounting for 31 per cent of total M&A values, driven by Adani Group’s acquisition of ITD Cementation India Limited ($381 million) and Ashoka Buildcon's acquisition of Ashoka Concessions ($182 million).

While, domestic deals continued to lead the deal activity, accounting for a 69 per cent of volumes and a 57 per cent of values, cross-border M&A was dominated by interest from the US companies contributing to 11 deals accounting for 61 per cent of the volumes.

The private equity activity saw 87 deals at $1.9 billion, with values rising 30 per cent to $1.9 billion, driven by five high-value deals exceeding $100 million.

The top five deals, spanning retail, agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals, and banking, accounted for 67 per cent of total PE values at $1.3 billion.

Notably, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth, family offices, and angel investors invested $350 million in KiranaKart Technologies Pvt Ltd (Zepto), its third fundraise in 2024 and marking the top deal for November.

November witnessed a robust IPO and QIP activity, with eight IPOs raising a total of $4.2 billion and 10 QIPs garnering $2.8 billion.