Indian companies just spent $36 billion overseas. Here's what that actually means.

2026-07-07 — business growth strategy India

I looked at the Q2 numbers from Grant Thornton Bharat last week. Something felt different this time.

India recorded $36.3 billion in combined M&A and private equity deals in the second quarter of 2026. That's 127% higher than last year. The highest quarterly figure in four years.

The real story isn't the headline number, though. It's that 84% of the M&A value—about $23.4 billion out of $27.9 billion—came from Indian companies buying things overseas. Not foreign investors betting on India. Indians going out and betting on the world.

That shift matters.

Five separate deals over a billion dollars drove that number. But Sun Pharma's acquisition of Organon, the US pharmaceutical company, eclipsed everything else. $11.75 billion. The largest overseas pharma acquisition an Indian company has ever pulled off, and it wasn't even close. Actually, that's not quite right—there were other large pharmaceutical deals before, but not at this scale from India specifically. The point is: Sun Pharma just walked into women's health and biosimilars markets where they barely existed twelve months ago.

One deal.

Without Organon, Q2 would have been a strong quarter anyway. With it, the numbers look almost ridiculous. The last time we saw M&A value this high in a single quarter was Q2 2022. That was the HDFC-HDFC Bank merger. Domestic consolidation. Clean. Obvious. This is different. This is Indian companies moving capital across borders at scale, with the kind of confidence that comes from strong balance sheets and a currency position that actually works in their favor for once.

Private equity stayed quieter. Three hundred and twenty-five deals worth $8.4 billion across Q2. Down about 8% from the quarter before. Deal count fell 22%. That usually means investors are being picky, not panicking.

The PE standout was the Rajasthan Royals investment. $1.64 billion into Royal Multisport, the holding company that owns the IPL franchise. Lakshmi Mittal and Adar Poonawalla led it. Mittal's family took 75%. Poonawalla took 18%. The valuation essentially doubled the franchise from what anyone was talking about two years ago.

International money is now treating IPL franchises like North American sports properties, something like that. Not as emerging market speculation. As actual assets with steady cashflow and global brand recognition.

One thing worth noting: deal volumes fell 18% from Q1 to Q2. So the quarter's record value was built on fewer, much larger transactions. That concentration is a vulnerability. A few deals going wrong next quarter unravels everything that looks impressive right now.

Whether this outbound M&A run is a permanent shift or just a window created by specific conditions—available assets, strong balance sheets—is still unclear. Grant Thornton's Dealtracker will tell us more when Q3 lands. Until then, we're watching to see if other Indian companies can find their own Organon.