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India's dealmaking activity accelerated in July as overall transaction value reached $11.6 billion across 210 deals due to a rebound in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), steady private equity (PE) investments and the strongest capital markets activity of the year, a report said on Wednesday. 

A report by Grant Thornton Bharat said that M&A and PE activity together accounted for 187 transactions worth $7.3 billion during the month, up 15 per cent in volume and 73 per cent in value from June.

The increase in deal values was supported by the return of large strategic transactions, including three billion-dollar deals and six transactions valued at more than $100 million, it said.

However, together these deals contributed about $5.7 billion.

"July witnessed the return of billion-dollar M&A transactions and the strongest monthly activity this year in the capital markets, which lifted overall deal values," Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Deals Lifecycle, Grant Thornton Bharat, said.

He said that private equity activity remained stable with investors continuing to back early-stage and growth-focused businesses, while strong cross-border dealmaking reflected sustained investor interest in India.

In addition, M&A activity rose sharply during the month with 76 deals worth $6 billion. Transaction volumes increased 25 per cent from the previous month, while deal values more than doubled.

Outbound deals contributed 54 per cent of total M&A value despite recording the lowest outbound deal count of the year.

Meanwhile, private equity activity remained resilient and recorded 111 deals worth $1.2 billion. While the number of transactions rose 9 per cent, deal values declined 4 per cent as investors continued to favour smaller, early-stage and growth-oriented investments.

Additionally, capital markets posted their strongest performance of 2026 as 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) raised $1.5 billion and 12 qualified institutional placements (QIPs) mobilised $2.8 billion.

Sector-wise, retail & consumer continued to lead deal activity by transaction volume across M&A and PE deals, while banking and financial Services (BFSI) recorded strong momentum and emerged as the largest sector by PE deal value for the first time this year.