M&A deal activity set to pick up this year, may touch $75 billion: Ganeshan Murugaiyan, BNP Paribas

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Indian firms are likely to step up mergers and acquisitions (M&As) this year, with deals worth $75 billion estimated in 2024 against about $60 billion last year, said Ganeshan Murugaiyan, head, corporate coverage and advisory, BNP Paribas, India. In an interview to ET, the veteran investment banker pointed out acquisition opportunities in areas where geopolitical volatility had rendered some industries uncompetitive. Edited excerpts:

The previous year was a lean one for M&A activity everywhere. What are clients saying about 2024?
Last year, volumes were down almost 30-35% from what we saw in prior years. There were many factors, but if you look at 2024, the momentum is building up quite a bit. One is that clearly you have a lot of M&As within India. When I say domestic, a big component which has got added now is private equity. In a lot of assets, controlling stake by private equity may change hands this year. In India, my guess is that M&As should be somewhere around $75 billion versus around $60 billion last year.

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What will drive the pickup in activity this year? What's changed?
As we went through the volatility after the Ukraine war, and the shift in supply chains, the cost structures have changed for some of the regions. The input costs have especially gone up — in