New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- News of Naveen Jindal's bid, through his privately-held company Jindal Steel International, for ThyssenKrupp's struggling European steel operations as well as Mumbai-based specialty chemicals manufacturer Dorf Ketal's talks to acquire Italian firm Italmatch Chemicals SpA, mark a fresh wave of Indian cross-border acquisitions. Coming just after Tata Motors' €3.8 billion acquisition of Iveco Group, these mega deals are a sign of a broader surge in outbound investment, which, according to EY's latest report, surged 67% in FY25.

It has echoes of a similar surge 18 years ago when large Indian companies went on a global acquisition spree. Yet, beneath the surface similarities lies a fundamental shift in motivation ...