Once-in-a-life deals fuel $100-billion mergers-and-acquisitions boom

Amazon, Alibaba and Tencent are acquiring stakes in local firms to increase their India presence

The biggest mergers-and-acquisitions (M&As) boom in Indian history has investment bankers preparing for even more deal-making to come. Transactions involving Indian companies have reached $104.5billion in 2018, trouncing the previous annual record, with almost four months left in the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The tally may surpass $100 billion again in 2019, said Sanjeev Krishan, a Gurgaon-based partner at PwC India, who focuses on private equity and deals. 

The combination of a new bankruptcy law, a race for dominance in the e-commerce industry and a record war chest at Asia-focused private equity funds, has created what some are