India M&A push undeterred by credit woes

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Turmoil in credit markets could even serve to open up opportunities for cash-rich Indian corporates looking globally to buy access to materials, technology, and distribution.

"Appetite continues to be there and continues to grow," Chanda Kochhar, joint managing director of ICICI Bank, India's No. 2 lender, told the Reuters India Investment Summit. "The Indian corporate sector has a healthy balance sheet strength to be able to execute some of these large transactions."

Indian companies have announced $22.3 billion worth of outbound acquisitions this year, Thomson Financial data show, approaching last year's record $24 billion, which was fattened by Tata Steel's blockbuster $12.9 billion takeover of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus.

Indian companies looking to maintain growth trajectories fuelled by average economic expansion of 8.6 percent over the past four years are not shy about their acquisitive leanings.

"We would be looking at major acquisitions, that is no question," Atul Chandra, president of the international oil business for Reliance Industries Ltd told the Reuters Summit. The firm is ready to spend as much as $15 billion on the right target in oil, gas or petrochemicals, he added.

Other sectors seen ripe for overseas M&A from India include steel, autos and pharmaceuticals.

Hindalco Industries, which paid $6 billion this year for Canada's Novelis, said last week it is keen to buy copper mines abroad. Pharmaceuticals maker Biocon Ltd, meanwhile, said this week it too hopes to buy overseas.

In what could be India's next signature deal, Tata Motors Ltd is vying with local foe Mahindra & Mahindra and private equity firm One Equity Partners to buy British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co in a deal expected to be worth roughly $1.5 billion.

"I haven't seen any slowdown in the Indian market," said Colin Banfield, head of Asia Pacific M&A at Lehman Brothers. "I don't think you've seen any reduction in interest from Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra for assets such as Jaguar and Land Rover, despite what's happened in the global financing markets."

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