Overall decline in deals was mainly due to low domestic deal transactions, with last year registering four large domestic deals aggregating $2.1 billion, one in the energy and natural resources.

Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) deals in October plunged by 45 and 40 per cent in value and volume terms, respectively, over last year, according to Grant Thornton’s DealTracker.

The M&As were worth $1.5 billion as against $2.8 billion a year ago.

In volume terms, there were 28 deals as against 47 deals last year.

Of the total deals, one was valued over $500 million and three above $100 million each, aggregating $1.4 billion and accounting for 91 per cent of the total M&A deal value.

The overall decline in deals was mainly due to low domestic deal transactions, with last year registering four large domestic deals aggregating $2.1 billion, one in the energy and natural resources sector, two in the media and entertainment sector and one in the FMCG segment.

The upside, though, is that while the overall M&A deal value and volume declined, the month witnessed an 1.8 times increase in deal value despite a 22 per cent fall in deal volume as against the previous month, showing signs of improved deal sentiment and appetite for big deals.

According to Grant Thornton, this was aided by the corporate tax cut, which improved investor sentiment and confidence.

While the domestic deal segment saw a downtrend in terms of volume by 25 per cent and value by 90 per cent, cross-border values nearly doubled.

The overall M&A deal activity, however, continued to see a declining trend as against the previous comparable months.

Meanwhile, manufacturing, energy, startups, pharma, banking, IT, infra and e-commerce sectors contributed to the deal value, accounting for about 89 per cent.

IT, startups and pharma sectors too continued to drive volume, accounting for 47 per cent of the total deal volume.

October also indicated potential in the automotive and infrastructure sectors, attracting over $100 million each notwithstanding the prevailing slump in sales amid the slowdown.

Consolidation in these sectors was driven by strategic reasons to access combined market potential and gain sizeable market share, it noted.