Deal Street: M&A moves that made waves in 2016

Trade

• Watchlist
• Portfolio
• Message
• Set Alert

 

 

Choose Stock Exchange: BSE LIVE NSE LIVE

26 Aug, 2025 12:21

Volume

Todays L/H

More

×

M SaraswathyMoneycontrolYear 2016 witnessed some brisk mergers & acquisition (M&A) activity across sectors like telecom, start-ups and insurance. The e-commerce space witnessed a lot of action even as the sustainability of many business models are being called into question. Insurance was the other sector which saw some big ticket deals happening.

According to a Grant Thornton report, deals worth USD 45.8 billion were struck during January-October.

Here are the deals that made headlines in 2016:

Rs 11,000 crore--Reliance Communications-Brookfield Infrastructure: In December, Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) signed binding agreements with Brookfield Infrastructure to acquire RCOM’s nationwide tower assets. RCOM will receive an upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore on completion of the transaction.

Rs 10,000 crore--MakeMyTrip-Ibibo: In October, online travel portal MakeMyTrip said it will acquire competitor Ibibo in an all-stock deal. While both parties refused to divulge the valuation of the deal, media reports peg the deal size around Rs 10,000 crore. Following the acquisition, MakeMyTrip will become the largest travel company in India.

Deal size not disclosed--Reliance Communications-Aircel: in September, RCOM and Maxis Communications (Aircel’s promoters) signed a deal for the merger of their Indian wireless businesses. This was termed as the largest-ever consolidation in the Indian telecom sector and the merged company will be one of India’s largest private sector companies, with an asset base of over Rs 65,000 crore and net worth of Rs 35,000 crore.

Deal size not disclosed--HDFC Life-Max Life: In June, private life insurer Max Life Insurance announced a merger with HDFC Life. While this deal awaits regulatory nod, post its completion HDFC Life will automatically list on the exchanges through reverse-listing process. The merged entity is expected to be worth around Rs 65,000 crore.

Rs 3400 crore--Wipro-Appirio: In October, IT services major Wipro acquired Appirio, a global cloud services company for Rs 3400 crore, to strengthen its cloud services offering.

Rs 1350 crore--HCL-Geometric: In April, HCL Technologies acquired engineering solutions and services firm Geometric for around Rs 1350 crore. HCL Tech said purchase would give it a portfolio of end–to–end engineering, R&D, digital technologies and Internet of Things capabilities.

Rs 6800 crore--Blackstone-Mphasis: In April, private equity major Blackstone acquired Mphasis from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise for USD 1 billion (Rs 6800 crore). It was one of the biggest investments for Blackstone, which Amit Dixit, co-head, Blackstone India termed as a ‘rare opportunity’.

Rs 1200 crore--Quikr-CommonFloor: In January, online classified platform Quikr announced acquisition of online real estate portal CommonFloor. Media reports pegged the deal size around Rs 1200 crore.

Rs 885 crore--PayU-Citrus: in September, Payment services provider PayU announced acquisition of smaller Indian rival Citrus Pay for around Rs 885 crore ($150 million). It was a good deal for many of the early investors in Citrus who are reported to have made three times their original investment

Rs 476 crore--Myntra-Jabong: In July, Myntra acquired online fashion retailer Jabong for Rs 476 crore ($70 million). It beat rivals like Amazon, Future Group and Snapdeal in the race for acquiring Jabong, whose parent Global Fashion group had been looking for a suitor for almost a year.