Page 2 - Ideal Activity News Today

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Deals within ecommerce nearly halved by value to 3.3 billion while the number fell 70% to 124 deals. Apparel and retail, however, saw deal transaction surge seven times, led by Reliance Retail which raised nearly $1.6 billion from Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Lenskart also received a funding of $500 million during the first half of 2023, followed by M&G Plc, Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global buying a stake in Udaan last month.

All major markets in the APAC region saw a decrease in deal activity. China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and New Zealand, stated GlobalData.

According to S Ramesh, Kotak Investment Bankings Managing Director and CEO, corporates are exploring various capital-raising avenues given the conducive environment, with options spanning private capital, REITs, InVITs or even QIPs, , kotak investment banking, ipos, deal activity

India is expected to see an upward trajectory in deal activity in 2024, according to a report by Bain & Companys Global Healthcare Private Equity and M&A report. The report cites a surge in healthcare spending and the resilience of pharma manufacturing and services. India overtook China in 2022 in deal volume and value size, and remained top in the Asia Pacific region in 2023. The report predicts 22 healthcare deals in 2023, with deal value reaching $4.6 billion.

For deal flows to be revived, buyers need to be more confident about China’s growth, and they need to see some strong and high-profile deals go through first, industry insiders say.

​The biggest merger and acquisition deal was Reliance Retail Ventures majority buy of Superdrys assets in the local region for USD 48 million, while the top ADIAs USD 598 investment for a 0.6 per cent stake in Reliance Retail was the top billing transaction, involving a private equity ​fund​, the consultancy firm said.

Over the past year, M&A dealmakers have confronted their most prolonged challenges since the 2008–2009 financial crisis. Rising interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and recession fears contributed to a sustained downturn in deal activity that bottomed out in the first quarter of 2023.

Statistics from GlobalData and Ansarada both point to slowed deal activity within the region, but emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) may present opportunities.