India's corporate titans are back on the global acquisition trail, but this isn't just about showing off. Early reports put Sun Pharmaceutical's staggering $11.75 billion bid for New York-listed Organon & Co. in late April as the largest overseas play by an Indian firm in nearly two decades. This wasn't an isolated incident. Far from it.
Tata Motors recently shelled out $4.4 billion for Turin’s Iveco. IT giant Coforge snapped up Silicon Valley AI firm Encora for $2.35 billion. Even Bajaj Group bought a significant 23% chunk of global insurance giant Allianz SE earlier this year. These aren't minor investments. They signal a palpable shift.
Grant Thornton, the consultancy, reports a startling surge: 162 Indian companies dropped over $18 billion on outbound acquisitions in 2025. That’s a 34% jump from the year prior. "We could cross $15 billion in deal value in just the first half of this year," remarked Sumeet Abrol, partner and national leader at Grant Thornton, to the BBC.
For many, this spending spree echoes the audacious bets of two decades ago, when the Tata Group famously snagged trophy assets like Jaguar Land Rover and Corus Steel. But don't mistake this for a rerun. Analysts speaking to the BBC contend the motivations feel distinctly different this time around. Global ambition? Sure. But strategic and operational necessity now dominate the conversation.
The economic background at home has, frankly, soured. Remember the roaring bull market of the early 2000s? Gone. India today faces a rapid exodus of foreign portfolio investors, a sharp slowdown in net foreign direct investment, and private sector investment that remains stubbornly weak. This despite government tax cuts and lavish production-linked subsidies.
"Corporate profits [of India's top 500 companies post-Covid] grew at 30.8% per annum. But still, our overall capital formation rates from the private sector have been disappointing."
That's a telling admission from India's chief economic advisor, V Anantha Nageswaran. It paints a stark picture. Experts see the rush overseas—even with the government's constant plea for more domestic investment—as a clear sign. It points to growing disaffection with the Indian business climate. And, of course, better diversification and capability-building opportunities abroad.
"There is plenty of Indian money heading abroad. Even among the companies that we own in our portfolio, many are setting up greenfield factories in the US and other places where industrial land is almost free and accessing working capital is much easier than here," noted Saurabh Mukherjea of Marcellus Investment Managers to the BBC.
It’s not just the industry behemoths playing this game. While Mukesh Ambani’s rumored backing of a $300 billion oil refinery in Brownsville (announced by Donald Trump, still unconfirmed by the Ambanis) grabs headlines, Mukherjea insists, "dozens of smaller Indian companies are making similar greenfield investments or pursuing smaller acquisitions."
Stronger balance sheets and improved access to global financing fuels this trend. Neha Singh, co-founder of data intelligence firm Tracxn, explained it plainly: "Indian companies are increasingly looking overseas to access markets, brands, technology capabilities, R&D expertise, and established distribution networks that may otherwise take years to build organically." A smart move, certainly. Especially in a world where supply chain chokepoints and trade tariffs are increasingly weaponized.
But overseas acquisitions are a gamble. Tata Steel's purchase of Corus Steel, for instance, became an "albatross" around its neck for decades, Mukherjea reminds us. And a striking point? Even after all these years, Indian companies often can't pay with shares. The colossal Sun Pharma deal? All cash. Financially risky, indeed.
Still, expect more. A flurry of free trade deals—with the UK, Europe, Australia, and others—could accelerate this "deluge of outbound deals." Mukherjea predicts Indian companies will "head off to invest in the West to build up bases in the years to come." And there's a personal element too. Many next-gen corporate scions study and live abroad. They logically want to hold assets in foreign currency, especially when the rupee loses "40% of its value to the dollar every decade." A sobering thought.
Yet, this outward focus will likely mean "selective caution" on significant domestic investments. India remains caught in a loop of weak demand and anemic private investment, now compounded by a global energy shock and the unsettling specter of agentic-AI’s impact on an already fragile job market. Surpassing last year's $18 billion deal value? Unclear, thanks to the "geopolitical air pocket," Abrol admits. But the long-term trend is undeniable: Indian companies will continue to hedge against growing economic uncertainties in their home country, even as the government desperately tries to lure dollars back and kick-start its struggling growth engine. A contradiction, or just shrewd business?
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