Corporate India’s merger and acquisition (M&A) activity witnessed a 16% decline in November at $2.06 billion, largely owing to an absence of big ticket deals compared to the year-ago period, says a survey.

According to assurance, tax, and advisory firm Grant Thornton, the overall M&A market in November saw a 16% fall in deal value and 7% decline in volume. There were 43 M&A transactions worth $2.06 billion in November this year, while in the corresponding period last year there were 46 deals worth $2.46 billion.

“This was primarily due to muted cross-border deal values as compared to November 2015, which witnessed five big-ticket cross-border deals valued over USD 100 million, while this month witnessed only one,” the report said.

According to Prashant Mehra –Partner at Grant Thornton India LLP, as the impact of demonetisation is yet to be seen, and the fate of goods and services tax (GST) is currently in a wait and watch the situation, the developments may have a short-term impact on deal closures.

“In general, the outlook for transactions seems to be healthy. Domestic M&A along with cross-border activity in core sectors will continue to be the space where we will perhaps see most of the action,” Mehra added.

During November, manufacturing sector led the M&A activity by contributing over 55% of total deal value. The November deal tally was primarily driven by Dalmia Bharat Group’s restructuring decision to consolidate all its cement businesses under one listed entity.

Consequently, this will result in the country’s fourth largest cement producer. This deal is estimated to be valued around $1.1 billion.

Start-ups continued to lead the M&A deal volume with contributing 28% of total transactions. The month also witnessed some big ticket deals in sectors such as media & entertainment, automotive and infrastructure management.