MUMBAI: Tata Motors’ $4.45-billion Iveco acquisition along with the $3-billion equity deal that RBL Bank struck with Emirates NBD have led to a 37% growth in the value of mergers and acquisitions to $26 billion across 649 transactions in the first nine months of 2025, while sequentially the deal value rose 19%.
According to a tabulation of deal activities by EY, the dealmaking ecosystem continued to show strong resilience so far in 2025.
The upswing comes despite persistent global macro volatility, demonstrating sustained investor confidence and the country’s position as one of the world’s most dynamic transaction markets, the report said, adding that the deal market saw a sharp rise in mid-sized transactions across key sectors.
According to Amit Khandelwal, a managing partner at EY India, both PE and M&A have seen a rebound from the previous quarter. The $26-billion worth of deals were fueled by big size transactions across key sectors. One of the most remarkable deals in Q3 was the $3-billion acquisition of RBL Bank by Emirates NBD, the largest foreign direct investment transaction in the domestic financial services sector till date, exemplifies the increasing attraction of the sector.
The third quarter saw a total of 280 M&As, with domestic transactions comprising 203 deals. While outbound deals numbered 41, inbound deals were at 36, Khandelwal said.
Private equity activity also stayed healthy this quarter, with 369 investment deals and 81 exits. The largest PE transaction was in September, when International Holding Company invested $1 billion for a 43% stake in Samman Capital, marking a significant deal in the NBFC sector and underscoring continued investor interest in the Indian financial services sector.
Notably, July stood out with $11.8 billion worth of deals driven by a rise in mid-sized transactions that offset the moderation in mega-deals. The quarter saw 53 significant deals valued at $100 million or more, but only two exceeded the billion-dollar mark.
The automotive sector took the lead in value terms, powered by Tata Motors’ $4.45 billion acquisition of Iveco, while the consumer products and retail sectors followed with $3.3 billion in transactions, and the life sciences sector saw $2.5 billion across 46 deals.
The technology sector continued to dominate deal volume with 119 transactions—up from 98 in Q3 2024 and 78 in Q2 2025.