UK-based Diageo's acquisition of
53.4 per cent stake in Vijay Mallya-led United Spirits for Rs 11,166.5 crore ($2 billion) could be the biggest inbound merger & acquisition (M&A) deal so far this year.
World's largest spirits maker Diageo Plc on Friday announced it will acquire 53.4 per cent stake in United Spirits for Rs 11,166.5 crore in a multi-structured deal, which may provide Vijay Mallya a breather from troubles emanating from the
grounded Kingfisher Airlines.
Commenting on the deal Deloitte India Leader, Financial Advisory Avinash Gupta said: "This is most likely the largest inbound deal so far this year but it is not a trend and it does not signify that many more such inbound deals are likely to happen. This is just a unique situation where a deal has happened."
Some of the major inbound deals - wherein a foreign company or its subsidiary had acquired an Indian entity - in the past, includes
BP's $9 billion acquisition of Reliance Industries' oil & gas assets and the acquisition of Cairn India by NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal led-Vedanta Resources for over $8 billion.
The United Kingdom has been one of the top acquirers of Indian assets over the years as another most prominent inbound deal also involved a UK entity - Vodafone Group. It
acquired Essar's stake in Vodafone Essar for $5 billion.
Other key inbound transactions include Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo Company's acquisition of
majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for up to $4.6 billion and US-based
Abbott's acquisition of Piramal Healthcare's domestic formulation business for $3.72 billion.
With inputs from PTI 
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