With a banner year for deals, India overtakes China as a favoured target

Deal making in India topped $92 billion this year

India is having its busiest year ever for corporate deal making, as foreign buyers are now spending more here than in China.

Companies and investors alike are betting the world’s fastest-growing large economy—once seen as bureaucratically sclerotic and unpredictable—is turning into a destination that offers opportunity driven by hundreds of millions of consumers. Other deal drivers include industry consolidation, a better bankruptcy system and a growing willingness among owners of large family businesses to cash out.

In all, mergers and acquisitions targeting Indian companies totaled $93.7 billion this year—up 52% from a year earlier—which is the highest tally since the economy started