India’s merger and acquisition (M&A) market has cemented its position as one of the most resilient and attractive deal markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with domestic consolidation reaching an estimated $104 billion in 2025 – its best performance in two years.
Indian companies significantly ramped up their overseas acquisitions, with outbound M&A activity surging to $22 billion, the highest in a decade. Outbound deals accounted for over 25% of the total deal market by mid-December 2025, up sharply from 10% in 2023.
Major deals included Tata Motors agreeing to acquire Italy’s Iveco Group for $4.34 billion, Coforge’s $2.35 billion takeover of US-based Encora – the largest acquisition by an Indian IT company in the engineering R&D segment, and ONGC NTPC Green’s acquisition of Ayana Renewable Power for over $2.2 billion.
The IT sector witnessed a 33% rise in M&A activity in 2025, driven primarily by the need to build AI capabilities for 2026. The technology industry saw total deal values estimated between $26 billion and $29 billion, a nearly 30% increase over the previous year.
Cross-border transactions also flourished, with SMBC announcing a 20% stake acquisition in YES Bank and Emirates NBD’s $3 billion majority stake purchase in RBL Bank. The M&A momentum is expected to continue strong into 2026, supported by healthy corporate balance sheets.
