From cricket to data centres: where India's biggest deals happened in Q1

Mumbai, 2 April — India’s mergers-and-acquisitions market opened 2024 on a quieter note, with deal-making activity touching US$17.4 billion in the first quarter, down 44.5 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to data released on Tuesday.

The headline figure, while marking a sharp year-on-year retreat, still leaves room for sector-specific stories of ambition and consolidation. From high-profile cricket-league franchises to the rapidly expanding data-centre segment, the quarter’s largest transactions underline investors’ selective appetite for assets that promise long-term visibility in a slowing global economy.

Details of individual transactions were not disclosed, yet market watchers note that sports and digital-infrastructure assets have consistently attracted outsized cheques even as broader private-equity flows cool. The contrast between the subdued aggregate number and the buzz around marquee deals suggests that capital is being rationed for businesses with resilient cash flows or strategic national importance.

Advisers say the 44.5 per cent slump mirrors global caution amid rising borrowing costs, but also reflects a base effect: the year-earlier period included several multi-billion-dollar take-private bids and energy mega-mergers that are unlikely to repeat every cycle. With valuations resetting, buyers are stepping back to reassess price expectations, elongating timelines for due diligence and approvals.

Whether the downward trend extends deeper into 2024 will hinge on macroeconomic signals, but the first-quarter tally confirms that India remains on dealmakers’ radar—albeit with a sharper focus on quality over quantity.