Merger and acquisition is one of the most important and complex corporate transaction. Business entities make use of mergers and acquisitions for expansion of business as well as for gaining a competitive advantage in the industry. Mergers and acquisitions have become important and popular because of the enhanced competition, free flow of capital across countries and globalization of businesses. In the last few years, India had witnessed a substantial slowdown in the mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) activity. In the year 2014, Indian companies were involved in transactions worth $ 33 billion whereas in the year 2015, the value of M&A activity saw a dip to $ 20 billion. It is forecasted that the times to come will see heightened global M&A activity and it is anticipated that the value of transactions would cross $ 30 billion easily. The term ‘merger’ is not defined under the Companies Act, 1956, and under Income Tax Act, 1961. However, the Companies Act, 2013 without strictly defining the term explains the concept. A ‘merger’ is a combination of two or more entities into one; the desired effect being not just the accumulation of assets and liabilities of the distinct entities, but organization of such entity into one business. The possible objectives of mergers are: • manifold - economies of scale, • acquisition of technologies,• access to sectors / markets etc. Generally, in a merger, the emerging entities would cease to be in existence and would merge into a single surviving entity. An ‘acquisition’ or ‘takeover’ is the purchase by one person, of controlling interest in the share capital, or all or substantially all of the assets and/or liabilities, of the target. A takeover may be friendly or hostile, and may be effected through agreements between the acquirer and the majority shareholders, purchase of shares from the open market, or by making an offer for acquisition of the target’s shares to the entire body of shareholders. The key laws governing mergers and acquisitions in India are:1. Company Law2. Securities Law3. Competition Law4. Exchange Control5. Taxation LawThis study attempts to identify the key changes and the evolving trends in M&A deals and transactions in India taking into consideration aspects like Globalization, Deregulation, Technological improvements, The effect of treaties, etc. Whether these aspects push the concept of Mergers & Acquisitions to a new height or do they limit the scope of these kind of transactions in India
