Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) activity in the country has increased exponentially and deals worth $14.3 billion have been completed in the past two years, Mint has reported. Insolvency and Bankruptcy of India (IBC) has been credited for this flurry in mergers and acquisitions.

According to the Spotlight Asia report published by corporate investigations and risk consulting firm Kroll, out of the $14.3 billion, deals worth more than $10 billion have been completed in 2018 alone.

“Initially, there was concern that the IBC would lack firepower; however, while there have been some hits and misses, on the whole, the IBC has been very much a positive for the Indian market and is opening the door to a new investment class: distressed assets,” Managing Director at Kroll, Tarun Bhatia told Mint.

In addition to around 900 companies that are in various stages of resolution at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), 600-1000 more companies are expected to join the pipeline. This will create a large cohort for future M&A deals.

Reuters has also reported that overall M&A deals worth $99.7 billion involving Indian companies were completed in 2018, surpassing the annual record of $67.4 billion set in 2007.