JPMorgan sees India outbound M&A rising as firms move to secure supply chains

By Ira Dugal and Vibhuti Sharma

MUMBAI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase JPM.N expects more Indian companies to look for mergers and acquisitions overseas as they seek to secure key supply chains against volatile geopolitics that has led to the weaponisation of key supplies such as critical minerals.

Outbound M&A from India has had a strong year, Paul Uren, head of investment banking for Asia Pacific at the Wall Street firm, said in an interview with Reuters in Mumbai.

"There are a number of Indian companies that have a very good acquisition currency, and they also have access to the capital markets, whether it's equity or debt. So you'll continue to see more of that," Uren said.

"We'll be active in pursuing opportunities along those lines."

Overall M&A in India hit the $100 billion mark in the first half of 2026 across 680 deals, data from JPMorgan showed. Outbound deals have already reached close to $24 billion so far this year, on track to hit a record high.

Deals announced this year include Sun Pharmaceuticals' SUN.NS deal to buy U.S. drugmaker Organon & Co OGN.N in an all-cash deal valued at $11.75 billion including debt. JPMorgan was an advisor to the deal which is expected to close in early 2027.

Indian firms are in conversations to secure energy supplies and critical minerals as part of free trade agreements. As part of trade talks with Canada, for instance, a number of companies are in talks to invest in LNG and critical mineral projects, Canada's trade minister said over the weekend.

"A combination of factors is driving this activity. Supply chain resiliency is one," Uren said.

INDIA ECM PLAYS CATCH UP

India, which saw a surge in initial public offerings over the last two years, has seen activity slow this year due to weak secondary markets and lower valuations.

IPOs worth $9.9 billion across 194 firms had been concluded by September 21 this year, compared with $21.8 billion in all of 2025, data from LSEG shows.

Two large IPO, including NSE's $2.3 billion offering and Reliance Jio Platforms' $3.8 billion share sale, are likely to boost activity levels, Uren said.

"India will ultimately have a very strong year for equity capital markets once you take into account those transactions."

For now, activity in other parts of the Asia Pacific region is stronger, with China and Hong Kong seeing a 53% increase in volumes while South Korea and Taiwan have also seen a material increase, Uren said.

"Our confidence and conviction that this will be enduring is actually very high. The reason being that the companies include many that are true industry leaders," he said.

"A lot of what they're doing is globally relevant; they've built terrific businesses; and there’s a lot of global interest in them."