Harsh Batra
It’s another busy week for Indian dealmakers, with 14 transactions tracked across materials, financial services, infrastructure and consumer retail.
The standout story is Solar Industries’ $1.36 billion all-cash acquisition of South Africa’s Omnia Holdings, one of the largest outbound acquisitions by an Indian company this year and a major expansion of its mining and chemicals footprint beyond India.
And in other news this week:
- Essar Energy Transition Retail agreed to buy UK forecourt operator SGN Retail for £250 million, adding 118 sites to its network.
- Indiabulls will acquire a 70% stake in lending-tech platform Fintech Cloud for ₹1,050 crore.
- Frontier Warehousing took a controlling stake in Kesoram Industries as the Birla family exits.
Thanks for reading, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how I can help with your next M&A deal.
Weekly summary | September 10-17, 2026
Outbound M&A was the story of the week. Solar Industries agreed to acquire South Africa’s Omnia Holdings for $1.36 billion (₹12,951 crore) in an all-cash deal, expanding its mining and chemicals business well beyond India. It’s one of the largest outbound acquisitions by an Indian company this year.
Financial services saw plenty of activity too: Peak XV sold a 1.47% stake in Groww for ₹1,756 crore via a bulk deal, Accel offloaded a ₹156 crore stake in BlackBuck via block deal, and Indiabulls agreed to acquire a 70% stake in lending-tech platform Fintech Cloud for ₹1,050 crore, structured as a scheme of arrangement.
Elsewhere, Cochin Shipyard and Drydocks World formed a joint venture to strengthen India’s ship-repair industry, Premier Energies inked a JV with Germany’s RCT Group for a 12 GWh battery storage facility in Telangana, and Essar Energy Transition Retail bought UK forecourt operator SGN Retail for £250 million,
Rumour mill
- Aberdeen’s Union Square shopping centre is placed on the market for £175m.
- Accel-KKR makes a recommended cash offer for construction software group Eleco.
- Peel Holdings raises its cash offer for Harworth Group to 177.5p a share, valuing the Rotherham regeneration group at £599.8m. Acceptances close on 25 October.
- System1 rejects Brave Bison’s increased fourth offer, made two days earlier.
- A key Derby regeneration site comes to market following the collapse of its developer.
- Schroders is weighing acquisitions to expand its wealth management division.
- Vista Equity Partners is exploring strategic options for Finastra, the London-headquartered financial software provider.
- The UK government is seeking to acquire an insolvent specialist steelmaker.
- Eagle holds first talks with Thames Water’s leadership as the bailout crisis continues.
- Scottish SPFL club Spartans teams up with former USA goalkeeper Brad Friedel in a bid for Shrewsbury Town.
- A man pleads guilty to fraud and forgery offences relating to a fake takeover approach, following an FCA prosecution.
Regulatory
- The CMA commences its merger inquiry into McCormick & Company’s anticipated acquisition of the majority of Unilever’s foods business.
- ABB files its £4.1bn acquisition of Bath-based flow control group Rotork with the Austrian competition authority. The recommended cash offer, at 503p a share, is ABB’s largest ever deal.
- Zurich’s £8.2bn all-cash offer for Beazley clears its remaining regulatory conditions. The court hearing is set for 22 September, with the scheme expected to become effective on 1 October and Beazley’s London listing cancelled the following day.
- Merger update on Welltower’s acquisition of multiple care homes.
- Beowulf Mining updates on its £4.3m financing and the foreign direct investment approval process.
- The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade refers its proposed Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund subsidy scheme to the CMA.
- Ørsted receives a final opinion on the taxation of its Walney Extension and Hornsea 1 offshore wind farms.
Job moves
- A team of four data centre specialists moves to Astor, bringing a €5bn development pipeline.
- Aberdeen Football Club appoints Adrian Bevington as chief executive.
- Cameron Pearce moves from the board of Gledhow Investments to a non-board strategic adviser role.
- Affinity Water Finance announces a directorate change.
- Caledonia Investments appoints a non-executive director.
- Elementis appoints a senior independent director.
- Proteome Sciences appoints a non-executive director.
- Invesco’s Asia veteran Ian Hargreaves is to retire next year.
- Fresnillo announces a planned CFO succession.
- Sound Point Capital appoints Victoria Davies as managing director and head of Europe for global client solutions.
- Avacta appoints Mats Blom to its board as chair of the audit committee.
- Alan Lovell is appointed chair of British Steel.
- The chief executive of Safe and Sound retires after seven years.
- A Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz dealmaker moves to Linklaters as the firm expands in the US.
- Alison Kay is appointed chair of the Regen board.
- HSBC announces a group CFO succession.
- James Lowe, UK wealth director for private markets at Schroders Capital, departs the firm.
- DTZ Investors appoints Nicholas Garattini to the newly created role of head of capital formation.
- John Mulqueen is to leave his role as chief investment officer at Canary Wharf Group.
- Downing strengthens its private credit offering with a senior hire.
IPOs
Fundraising
- ETFBOOK raises $13m to expand its ETF data intelligence layer into the Americas and Asia Pacific.
- EZO reaches financial close on a €150m senior debt facility.
- HSBC Asset Management launches a sterling short-duration bond fund.
- The Observer raises £10m to fund its restructuring plan.
- Aterian’s Eastinco raises funds to trial tungsten trading.
- Empyrean Energy completes its equity capital raising.
- Keyridge Asset Management is to launch a Systematic Core Global Equity Fund.
- Open Cosmos raises €300m to expand its satellite constellation and deliver real-time intelligence and connectivity from space.
- A group of UK banks begins raising capital for a venture intended to create a new national payments provider.
- Constantine closes a £100m loan to finance a UK battery storage portfolio.
- Starlight Investments announces the successful close of its UK build-to-rent Fund II.
- Sage Group’s €500m bond is admitted to trading.
- South East Water abandons a planned bond issue as investors retreat from the water sector.
