U.S.-India M&A Deals Spike in November

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Dec. 2 – U.S. companies are stepping up their acquisitions of Indian companies, and Indian firms are also becoming more aggressive as they seek to gain access to the U.S. market through merger and acquisition deals.

November alone had seven India-bound M&A transactions from the United States and three U.S.-bound acquisitions from India, with most of these transactions occurring in the areas of consumer goods, industrials and pharmaceuticals.

Dabur India, a health and personal care company, acquired U.S. Namasté Laboratories and its three subsidiaries for US$100 million last month, giving Dabur entry into the ethnic hair market in the United States, as well as in Europe and in Africa. With the acquisition, nearly 25 percent of Dabur’s revenue will be generated overseas.

FedEx Express acquired the logistics, distribution and express businesses of India-based AFL and its affiliate, Unifreight India. The move will likely grant the shipping giant an even stronger domestic ground network in India.

U.S.-based Avantor Performance Materials Holdings’s November acquisition of RFCL, a leader in laboratory reagents and consumables, will allow Avantor to expand on its current presence in India.

The pharmaceutical firm Dr. Reddy acquired GlaxoSmithKline’s U.S. oral penicillin factory, which should allow it to make inroads into the U.S. healthcare market more quickly than it otherwise would have.

Other U.S.-India deals include Cambrex Corp acquisition of Zenara Pharmaceuticals for US$20 million, Zensar Technologies acquisition of Akibia for US$66 million and Norwest Ventures’ investment in Tutor Vista.