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India’s deal street just had one of those months where everyone stops pretending this economy is slow. October 2025 came in with fewer deals but somehow ended up looking like the financial version of a Diwali bumper sale. The funny part is that only a handful of big cheques did all the heavy lifting.
Five transactions alone made up a lion’s share of the stunning 16.8 billion dollar total. It is the kind of month that makes analysts double check their spreadsheets and ask if someone accidentally added an extra zero.
The official report behind this drama comes from Grant Thornton Bharat’s Dealtracker, which basically said that deal volumes dipped but values jumped 134% month on month. Translation: India went from doing many small deals to doing a few monster sized ones that could fund a mid sized European country for a year.
The biggest spark was in banking and financial services. If India’s BFSI sector was a person, October treated it like a Bollywood star entering a wedding. All eyes. All money. Emirates NBD dropped a jaw dropping 3 billion dollars for a 60% stake in RBL Bank. Honestly, cross border buys of this scale do not happen every other month. This one alone pushed banking to 44% of the month’s total deal value.
And as if that was not enough foreign love, Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company came in with a 1 billion dollar injection into Sammaan Capital. It is the largest primary infusion a foreign investor has ever made into an Indian NBFC.
So yes, Indian finance is having its main character moment.
Fed Bank also joined the party with a 705 million dollar stake picked up by Blackstone. This sector did not just attract money. It collected trophies. IPOs also made noise. Tata Capital’s listing crossed a billion dollars and flexed the kind of confidence that shows the market believes this decade belongs to financial services.
Even fintechs did not stay behind. Dhan raised 120 million dollars and quietly slipped into unicorn territory like it was checking into a hotel.
But banking was not the only one grabbing attention. Infrastructure had a plot twist of its own. Vedanta completed its 1.9 billion dollar buyout of Jaiprakash Associates under the IBC process. When a single distressed asset deal becomes the second biggest event of the month, you know infra is heating up again. The sector’s total value surged five times over September.
And yes, the Adani Group was around too, completing two full acquisitions in urban infrastructure. Clearly, India’s asset heavy space is not unfashionable. It is just been waiting for buyers with stronger stomachs.
There was action in energy as well. Jindal Power snapped up Jhajjar Power’s thermal project for roughly 455 million dollars. Meanwhile, Sembcorp grabbed ReNew’s Sun Bright unit for 191 million dollars and expanded its renewable footprint. It is a weird timeline where thermal and renewable buys are rising side by side, but that is India for you.
The energy transition is real, but the grid still needs everything from coal to solar to keep the lights on.
Retail and consumer deals slowed in count but ballooned in value simply because Zepto refused to take a day off. The quick commerce poster child raised 450 million dollars in its third fundraise of the year and basically carried the sector on its back. Tech also kept up its usual chatter. RateGain dropped 250 million dollars to acquire Sojern in a global travel tech push. For an Indian SaaS travel company to go overseas shopping at this scale, it is a clear sign that local tech is no longer timid.
On the manufacturing side, deal activity stayed steady even if it was not flashy. Synergy Capital’s 227 million dollar investment in Saurashtra Fuels dominated the sector. Premier Energies kept itself busy with domestic acquisitions. Pharma, however, had a slower month with only 380 million dollars in deals compared to September’s big ticket runs.
It is less of a problem and more of a breather. After all, pharma has had a wild couple of years.
The capital markets corner added more sparkle with 24 IPOs raising 5.1 billion dollars. This is the highest monthly IPO fundraising of 2025 so far. Tata Capital and LG Electronics took the lead with billion dollar issues. QIPs were quiet, but honestly, no one cares when IPOs are shining this hard. Public markets clearly still have liquidity, optimism and appetite. Investors may complain on social media, but their money behaves very differently.
If you zoom out, October looked like a masterclass in quality over quantity. India recorded 189 deals worth 10.6 billion dollars across M&A and PE. Add public market activity and the total jumps to 16.8 billion dollars. Volumes went down, but values went up dramatically. It is what happens when consolidation kicks in. Big players make bigger moves. Smaller players wait for their moment. And foreign investors treat India like the only stable plotline in an increasingly messy world.
The message is simple. India now attracts big money, not hesitant money. Billion dollar cheques are not rare events. They are becoming monthly occurrences. And with BFSI, infrastructure and manufacturing all pulling in capital at the same time, October felt less like a spike and more like a preview of what the next few years could look like. This is what a maturing market behaves like. Fewer deals. Larger bets. Confident capital. And a country quietly moving from being a fast growing economy to being a seriously investable one.
FAQs
Why did India see such a big jump in deal value in October 2025?
India saw a surge in deal value mainly because a few billion dollar transactions dominated the month. Banking, NBFCs, infrastructure, and tech contributed major high value deals, even though the number of transactions fell. Large cross border acquisitions and strong foreign investor activity pushed total deal value up 134 percent month on month.
What made Emirates NBD invest 3 billion dollars in RBL Bank?
Emirates NBD wanted fast entry into India’s fast growing banking market without going through licence hurdles or slow organic expansion. By buying 60 percent of RBL Bank, it instantly gained access to 15 million customers, hundreds of branches, and a proven compliance setup. RBL also benefits by plugging into Emirates NBD’s advanced digital banking systems, AI credit tools, and modern backend infrastructure.
Why is Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company investing in Indian NBFCs?
IHC’s 1 billion dollar investment in Sammaan Capital reflects global confidence in India’s next credit cycle. NBFCs are expected to drive growth in retail and small business lending. With cleaner balance sheets and stronger regulations now in place, foreign investors see NBFCs as safer, high potential bets.
Which sectors attracted the most investment in October 2025?
Banking and financial services led the month, followed by infrastructure, retail and consumer, technology, manufacturing, and energy. The financial sector alone contributed 44 percent of the total deal value, boosted by large acquisitions and significant PE inflows.
Why did infrastructure deals spike in October 2025?
Infrastructure value jumped mainly due to Vedanta’s 1.9 billion dollar acquisition of Jaiprakash Associates under the IBC process. The Adani Group also completed two fresh acquisitions. These big moves signaled renewed confidence in distressed assets and long term infrastructure plays.
What drove the rise in energy sector deals?
Energy deals were driven by Jindal Power’s 455 million dollar buyout of Jhajjar Power and Sembcorp’s renewable acquisition from ReNew. The mix of thermal and green energy transactions reflects India’s parallel push for energy security and clean energy expansion.
Why did tech deals remain stable despite global slowdown concerns?
India’s tech and startup ecosystem continues to attract steady funding because of strong domestic demand, cost efficient innovation, and increasing global interest in SaaS businesses. RateGain’s 250 million dollar acquisition of Sojern highlighted how Indian tech companies are now expanding globally.
What explains Zepto’s 450 million dollar fundraise?
Zepto’s rapid expansion, strong unit economics, and growing demand for quick commerce contributed to its 450 million dollar raise. This single deal made up most of the retail and consumer sector’s total value, showing that investors still back scalable consumer tech models.
How did India’s IPO market perform in October 2025?
India had its strongest IPO month of the year, with 24 companies raising 5.1 billion dollars. Big listings like Tata Capital and LG Electronics boosted momentum. Strong retail participation and market liquidity kept IPO demand high despite volatility in global markets.
What does October’s deal activity tell us about India’s investment climate?
The month showed that India is shifting toward fewer but larger and more strategic deals. Big foreign inflows, strong financial sector activity, steady private equity interest, and vibrant IPO markets point to rising investor confidence. It reflects a maturing economy where capital is getting more selective and more ambitious at the same time.
