Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
What a run for Indian healthcare. Sector M&A hit an all-time high of US$13.2bn in the June quarter, according to Grant Thornton Bharat, driven by pharma megadeals capping a half-year in which overall India deal value jumped 31% to US$86.9bn, per LSEG data.
The momentum carried into this week, as funds managed by KKR agreed to acquire Medicover‘s India hospital business in a €1.2bn transaction. The deal hands Medicover AB around €740m in gross cash proceeds for its 66.1% stake, with completion expected in Q4 2026. Global private equity’s appetite for Indian healthcare is far from cooling.
And in other news this week:
- Reliance Retail acquired AI-powered fashion discovery platform Furrl, taking on its technology, IP and entire team, with founder Esha Tiwary set to lead AI initiatives across its commerce platforms
- Alpha Alternatives‘ Build India Infrastructure Fund bought four operational road assets at an enterprise value of around ₹7,500 crore
- Yamaha-backed EV startup River Mobility raised a US$120m Series C led by Elev8 Venture Partners and Claypond Capital
Thanks for reading, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how I can help with your next M&A deal.
Enjoy the read.
Week Summary | From July 30 to August 06, 2026
Everyone had something to sell this week. Of the 23 transactions we tracked, an unusual number started with an owner heading for the exit: Medicover handed its India hospital business to KKR for €1.2bn to refocus on Europe, Worldline passed its Indian payments arm to BillDesk, JOST let go of Hyva‘s tipper body unit, and Aditya Birla Real Estate parted with Century Pulp and Paper in ITC’s ₹3,500 crore slump sale.
The public markets told the same story from the other side of the order book. The Government of India released 6.5% of LIC for ₹31,552 crore, hitting the insurer’s minimum public float ahead of schedule, while Peak XV and Elevation Capital sold ₹1,949 crore of Meesho, the Government of Singapore trimmed IndiGrid and Fairfax cut its IIFL Finance stake. Who was buying? Pension money, mutual funds and Capital Group, domestic and global institutions quietly absorbing what founders, early backers and the state put on offer.
Rumour mill
- Impact Fund Denmark is planning to invest about ₹500 crore for a 15%-20% stake in electric bus operator GreenCell Mobility
- Get My Parking is set to raise ₹40 crore (US$4.2 million) in an extended Series A round from existing investor IvyCap Ventures
- Macquarie Asset Management is in advanced talks to acquire a controlling stake in renewable energy platform Fourth Partner Energy at an enterprise value of about US$2 billion
- JSW Group and Volkswagen Group AG are in talks to form a new joint venture that would include Skoda Auto Volkswagen India’s manufacturing plant employees, vehicle platforms, sales and marketing operations, exports and technology
- Kuala Lumpur-based private equity firm Creador is in advanced talks to acquire about a 10% stake in Ludhiana-based Leeford Healthcare in a transaction expected to be valued at ₹800 crore
- I Squared Capital is looking to enter India’s warehousing sector and is evaluating potential acquisition targets
- Simplismart is set to raise nearly ₹97 crore (US$9 million) in a Series B round led by Dallas Venture Capital, with participation from Accel India, Shastra VC and Micromax Informatics
- Sarvam AI is set to raise US$74 million in a Series B extension led by NVIDIA, with participation from Glade Brook Capital, Gaja Capital and Indigo Ventures
- Blackstone and EQT are weighing majority-stake acquisitions in two Indian precision engineering companies
- Adani Energy Solutions may launch another institutional share sale by early next fiscal year after raising ₹35 billion (about US$367 million) in a similar transaction this week
- Groww’s co-founders are planning a ₹400-500 crore seed and early-stage fund focused on consumer internet and deeptech startups
- Reliance Retail faces new competition in the bidding for Harvey Nichols after Gordon Brothers joined the contest alongside Next, Frasers Group and Chalhoub Group
Regulatory
- The Reserve Bank of India has included Tata Sons in its list of upper-layer NBFCs, maintaining pressure on the holding company to pursue a public listing unless it secures an exemption
- The Competition Commission of India has approved the merger of AAPC India Hotel Management, Caddie Hotels, Triguna Hospitality Ventures and other entities into InterGlobe Hotels
- The Indian government has introduced legislation that would allow it to determine which electronic payment modes remain exempt from merchant charges, creating a legal basis for the potential return of MDR on UPI transactions
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved Patanjali Ayurved and DS Group’s nearly ₹4,500 crore acquisition of Magma General Insurance
- IRDAI has also released a decision where it allows insurers to invest in private limited companies, easing norms for financing infrastructure projects through SPVs and permitting repo, reverse repo and government securities lending transactions
- SEBI has agreed in principle to settle the National Stock Exchange’s past regulatory lapses for ₹14.91 billion (approximately US$156 million), removing a major legal overhang ahead of the exchange’s planned IPO
- SEBI has introduced the GARUDA green-channel mechanism for processing AIF placement memoranda, allowing eligible funds to roll out upon document acknowledgement
Job moves
- Air India has appointed former Ethiopian Airlines chief Tewolde Gebremariam as CEO and managing director following Campbell Wilson’s exit
- Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund has appointed Madhu Nair as CEO
- Norwest has appointed former DC Advisory executive Abhijit Chiripal as Head of Corporate Development and M&A for India
- The Reserve Bank of India has appointed Monisha Chakraborty as Executive Director, overseeing its Foreign Exchange and Financial Markets Regulation departments
IPOs
- Shiprocket has set a ₹92-97 price band for its approximately ₹1,618 crore IPO, which will open on August 12
- Milky Mist Dairy Food has set a ₹133-140 price band for its ₹1,553 crore IPO, which will open on August 11
- Molbio Diagnostics has set a ₹768-807 price band for its ₹940 crore IPO, which will open on August 10
- SoftBank-backed OfBusiness is exploring a revival of its IPO plans, with a potential offering of up to US$800 million
- KKR-backed PMI Electro Mobility is preparing for an IPO and has appointed bankers for the proposed offering
- Manipal Health Enterprises’ shares rose 10.5% on their market debut following a US$960 million IPO, valuing the hospital chain at approximately US$9.03 billion
- Dhoot Transmission has set a ₹829-871 price band for its ₹3,066.89 crore IPO, which will open on August 10
- ADIA invested US$20.9 million as an anchor investor in Manipal Health Enterprises’ IPO
- Yellow.ai has agreed to go public on Nasdaq through a merger with Bluerock Acquisition Corp. that implies a combined equity value of approximately US$550 million
- KKR-backed LEAP India has launched a ₹2,480 crore IPO that will open for subscription on August 7
- Bengaluru-based developer Assetz has confidentially filed draft documents for an approximately ₹1,200 crore IPO
- Veritas Finance has refiled draft IPO documents with SEBI for a fresh issue of up to ₹900 crore and an offer for sale of up to 1.28 crore shares
- Battery Smart may file draft IPO documents in September or October and has appointed SBI Capital Markets as lead merchant banker
- Zepto has paused its IPO plans and is in talks to raise around ₹1,000 crore in a pre-IPO round valuing the company at approximately US$4.5 billion, with participation expected from domestic institutional investors and existing shareholders including General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital and Nexus Venture Partners
Fundraising
- Piper Serica has marked the ₹300 crore first close of its ₹800 crore Bharat Tech Fund
- Nazara Technologies has approved a preferential equity issue of up to ₹733.5 crore to six identified investors, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals
- HomeRun raised US$12 million in a Series A round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Sorin Investments, Titan Capital, Sparrow Capital and Consumer Collective by Atrium
- LEAP India raised ₹371.3 crore in a pre-IPO placement led by GIC subsidiary Gamnat, with participation from Dymon Asia and promoter Sunu Mathew
- Mitti Labs raised US$9.5 million in a funding round led by Aramco Ventures, with participation from Lightspeed India, Godrej Industries Group, Cisco Foundation, Francis Family Fund and Volta Circle
- Pinegap raised US$8 million in a Series A round led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with participation from Silicon Valley Quad and DeVC
- Solinas Integrity raised US$5.5 million in a Series A1 round co-led by Mela Ventures and Hero Enterprise Family Office
- Consint.AI raised ₹22 crore (US$2.3 million) in a Series A round backed by BIG Global Investment JSC, Equanimity Ventures Trust II and Seafund Venture India Scheme I
- Vingo raised ₹10 crore (US$1.2 million) in a seed round led by IndiaQuotient, Inuka Capital and Credgenics founder Rishabh Goel
- River Mobility raised US$120 million in a Series C round led by Elev8 Venture Partners and Claypond Capital, comprising equity and venture debt
- InRisk Labs raised US$27 million in a Series A round co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Northpoint Capital
- Lighthouse Canton completed a ₹105 crore private credit investment in Emerald Leisures through the LC Luminere Credit Fund and affiliated entities
- Superleap raised ₹36 crore from Peak XV Partners’ Surge programme
- Matel Motion & Energy Solutions raised ₹130 crore in a Series B round led by UC Impower, with participation from Catamaran and Transition VC
- Mahindra Last Mile Mobility reached unicorn status after raising about ₹322 crore in a funding round led by global impact investor Lightrock at a valuation of ₹10,822 crore
- Arboreal Bioinnovations raised ₹230 crore in a Series A round led by Edelweiss’s EAAA and Omnivore
- Avaada Group closed approximately US$1.3 billion in financing to support a 2.15 GW renewable energy portfolio across Maharashtra and Gujarat
- Smallest.ai raised US$13 million in a Series A round led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from Sierra Ventures and 3one4 Capital
- Apna Mart raised ₹120 crore in a Series C round co-led by Accel India and Fundamentum, with participation from Peak XV Partners
- ACME Solar Holdings secured ₹3,404.57 crore in long-term project financing from Power Finance Corporation for its 250 MW Phase III firm and dispatchable renewable energy project
- Brookfield launched Lumara, a renewable energy platform through which it plans to deploy US$600 million in India
- Sid’s Farm raised more than ₹81 crore in a pre-Series B round led by Omnivore, NSFO, Dodla Dairy, Next Bharat Ventures and LIO
- SUIND raised ₹20.5 crore in seed funding led by Transition VC, with participation from IIMA Ventures
