India’s deal landscape experienced a dramatic surge in the second quarter of 2026, with deal value skyrocketing by 127% to reach $36.3 billion. This significant uptick was primarily propelled by a substantial increase in outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which consequently hit a four-year high for such transactions. According to a report by Grant Thornton Bharat, outbound deals constituted a dominant 84% of the total M&A value during the April to June period.
The value of M&A transactions saw an impressive jump of 302% compared to the previous quarter. This growth was largely attributed to five major cross-border deals, including Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ significant $11.75 billion acquisition of Organon & Co. Despite the impressive rise in deal value, the overall volume of transactions across the board saw a decrease of 18% from the first quarter.
In contrast, the private equity (PE) sector presented a more subdued picture. PE activity declined in both volume and value, with 325 deals worth $8.4 billion recorded. PE deal volume dropped by 22% from Q1 2026, and its value fell by 8%, marking the lowest volume since Q1 2025 and a third consecutive quarter of value decline. However, the average size of PE deals did increase, suggesting a trend towards fewer but larger investments. Key PE transactions included a $1.64 billion investment in Royal Multisport and a $1 billion investment in Nxtra Data.
Amidst the overall slowdown in funding, the quarter was marked by the emergence of four new unicorn companies: Skyroot Aerospace, Square Yards Consulting, Sarvam AI, and KreditBee. This indicates continued investor confidence in businesses demonstrating strong growth potential. Activity in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) slowed down, while Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs) saw an increase, pointing to a greater reliance on secondary fundraising by listed companies.
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