India outbound M&A seen rising as companies secure supply chains

Indian companies are expected to step up overseas acquisitions as geopolitical volatility pushes them to secure access to critical supplies and strengthen supply chain resilience. The outlook comes as India’s outbound dealmaking is already nearing record levels in 2026, even as domestic initial public offering activity slows from the pace seen over the last two years.

As reported by Reuters, JPMorgan Chase says Indian companies are likely to pursue more mergers and acquisitions abroad as they use strong balance sheets and access to equity and debt markets to support expansion. Paul Uren, the bank’s head of investment banking for Asia Pacific, says a number of Indian firms have attractive acquisition currency and the capacity to keep pursuing cross-border opportunities.

JPMorgan data shows overall M&A in India reaches $100 billion in the first half of 2026 across 680 deals. Outbound transactions total close to $24 billion so far this year, putting them on track for a record high.

Among the deals announced this year is Sun Pharmaceuticals’ agreement to buy U.S. drugmaker Organon & Co in an all-cash transaction valued at $11.75 billion including debt. JPMorgan is advising on the deal, which is expected to close in early 2027.

Supply chain security and capital markets outlook

A key driver of the overseas push is the effort to secure energy supplies and critical minerals as companies respond to increasingly volatile geopolitics. Indian firms are also in discussions tied to free trade arrangements, and Canada’s trade minister says over the weekend that several companies are in talks to invest in LNG and critical mineral projects as part of trade talks with Canada.

At the same time, India’s IPO market slows this year after a surge over the previous two years, as weaker secondary markets and lower valuations weigh on activity. LSEG data shows IPOs worth $9.9 billion across 194 firms are completed by September 21 this year, compared with $21.8 billion in all of 2025.

Uren says two large planned offerings, NSE’s $2.3 billion IPO and Reliance Jio Platforms’ $3.8 billion share sale, are likely to lift activity. He adds that other Asia Pacific markets are currently stronger, with China and Hong Kong posting a 53% rise in volumes and South Korea and Taiwan also recording material increases, but says confidence in India’s longer-term equity capital markets outlook remains high because many of its companies are global industry leaders.

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