8siliconindia | | DECEMBER 2021In FOCUSACQUISITIONS OF 2021 THAT MADE HEADLINESBY SI TEAMO ver the years, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have become one of the most beneficial strategies in the world of business. In the Indian subcontinent, taking over another business has happened very frequently. The purpose of such an M&A revolves around a company's long-term growth strategy, such as increasing market share, geographical outreach, reducing competition, profit from patents, or even entering new sectors or product lines. Companies often make required use of other underperforming companies or governments looking to disinvest.As per a report by financialmarkets tracker Refinitiv, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in India touched a three-year high, with deals worth $90.4 billion hits in the first nine months of 2021, a 35.1 percent increase compared to those in the first nine months to the same period a year ago.Mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals in India are on the verge of an all-time high as first-time buyers, especially startups, drive deal volume valued at an upward of $75 million.According to a report by Bain and Company, the number of such deals is likely to touch 85 this calendar year with first-time buyers accounting for almost 80% of them. Unlike in 2017-2019, when mega deals ­ valued at $5 billion or more ­ comprised a majority of deal activity in India, the last two years have seen heightened activity in mid-sized deals. Here we'll take a look at the some of the significant Mergers and Acquisitions in India-2021. Revival of Air IndiaOn October 8, after a gap of 68 years, debt-laden national carrier Air India handed back to its founders Tata Sons, concluded a decades-long struggle to offload the money-losing flag carrier. The salt-to-software conglomerate set a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crores reacquire the airline more than half a century after it yielded control to the Centre. The winning bid of Tata Sons for Air India was more than the government's reserve price of Rs 12,906 crore. Similarly, the Tata Group is actively reshaping its portfolio and has done over 20 deals in the last two years, consisting of multiple acquisitions such as BigBasket and 1mg to build its super-app.Reliance signs green loans to fund REC Solar acquisitionOn December 6, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has inked a $736 million-equivalent green loan to fund its acquisition of Norwegian solar panel manufacturer REC Solar Holdings, marking it as the first such financing for the Indian conglomerate.RIL disclosed its plan to use REC Solar's industry-leading technology in its fully integrated, metallic silicon to PV panel manufacturing Giga factory at DhirubhaiAmbani Green Energy Giga Complex, Jamnagar, primarily beginning with 4GW per annum capacity and eventually growing to 10GW per annum. The green financing is the only loan from RIL so far this year. Reliance has been aggressively growing its emerging businesses through M&A with recent acquisitions in retail, digital, and renewables segments.Byju's acquires Aakash Educational Services On April 5, Ed-tech major Byju's proclaimed the acquisition of Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) for around $1 billion. It is Byju's biggest acquisition to date in India's burgeoning ed-tech space. Byju's considered the deal a strategic partnership with AESL, a leader in test-prep services.The acquisition aims to provide education to students at a much larger scale with multiple delivery channels that can be innovated out of both ecosystems (online and offline). Byju's would make further investments to accelerate Aakash's growth. Sony, Zee to merge into a blockbuster unitZee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), two of India's most prominent media firms, took their first steps towards a multibillion-dollar merger. The agreement possesses the potential to brand the newly created company, one of the country's largest and most sought after. Sony Pictures Entertainment would invest $1.575 billion in the newly consolidated firm as part of the acquisition. The two parties agreed to ink a non-compete agreement.
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