Corporate Grapevine

Published: Dec 29, 2020
Updated: Dec 29, 2020

Morgan Stanley is new king of M&A advisors

Once upon a time, Citibank was the top merger and acquisitions advisor in India, earning huge fees. The bank has now not only lost its top place but is not to be seen in the top ten. The bank is now in the final stages of selling its retail banking unit to Axis Bank.

The gainer in the M&A league table is US-based Morgan Stanley, which is now advising clients on all top deals. The biggest transaction in 2021 was the Prosus (PayU) acquisition of Indiaideas.com (BillDesk). The acquisition of DHFL by Piramal and SB Energy by the Adani group topped the list of the biggest acquisitions.

New York headquartered Morgan Stanley has offices in more than 42 countries and more than 60,000 employees. Its clients include corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals.

The M&A activity by Indian companies rose to $ 61 billion in 2021, as compared to $ 56.7 billion in calendar 2020.