When Sun Pharmaceutical Industries secured shareholder approval in July for its $11.75-billion enterprise-value acquisition of US-based Organon, it marked more than just one of the biggest overseas acquisitions by an Indian company in recent years. The deal underscored a broader shift underway across India Inc.
The transaction also illustrates how India's outbound acquisition strategy has evolved. Unlike the overseas bets of the mid-2000s, Sun Pharma entered the deal with a net cash position, allowing it to fund a part of the acquisition through internal accruals while raising offshore financing for the balance. The combined company expects a pro forma net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of around 2.3 times and plans to deleverage rapidly using annual free cash flows of nearly $2.5 billion.
Instead of buying scale, companies are increasingly acquiring artificial intelligence capabilities, intellectual property, specialty drug portfolios, engineering expertise, established brands and access to developed markets.
The numbers reflect the momentum. According to Grant Thornton Bharat, Indian companies announced 162 outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&As) worth $18.2 billion in 2025. The pace has continued into this year, with 56 overseas acquisitions valued at $3.9 billion announced in the first quarter of CY2026. During the April-June quarter, outbound transactions accounted for 84% of India's total M&A value, underlining how overseas acquisitions are driving corporate dealmaking.
