Last updated on May 20th, 2021 at 11:04 am

The first quarter of 2018 is already gone, and it is time to take a step back and look at the private equity space in India to see how the numbers panned out in these difficult times.

Let us look at some of the highlights in this quarter

All in all, it was a satisfying quarter for Indian private equity. This seems to be a happy beginning for the year, and more such deals can be expected through the year.Investment Banking Banner

Let us look at what the story was for global and markets

  1. 2017 had a lot of difficult political and regulatory environment, but still, big-ticket private equity deals continued to be announced in the first quarter of 2018.
  2. Witness the takeover of Qualcomm by Broadcom at a reported $100 billion (some reports suggest it may be more), the takeover of insurance powerhouse Aetna by CVS Health for close to $70 billion.
  3. In the entertainment space, the biggest splash was made by the takeover of 20th Century Fox by Disney.
  4. Another interesting development was the use of M&A to diversify into a new area of business, like the proposed merger of telecom giant AT&T with the entertainment behemoth Time Warner. Our mouths water at the prospect of what Time Warner and AT&T could do together using their respective strengths.
  5. This trend of consolidation through acquisitions or mergers is expected to continue through 2018 on account of the fiercely competitive landscape which brings to mind the Darwinian theory of survival of only the fittest.

Overall, the Indian private equity reflected the bullish big ticket activity in the World markets including the Asia Pacific, and the year 2018 seems set to be a memorable year for PE as well and M&A.