The Deal That Should Happen: An M&A Deal Pitch Competition

The Deal That Should Happen is an M&A deal-pitch competition presented by Beta, the Finance & Investment Club of IIM Ahmedabad, as part of The Red Brick Summit 2026.

About the Competition: Mergers and acquisitions can create significant value when two businesses are worth more together than they are independently. But a strategically attractive combination does not automatically make for a value-creating transaction. The price paid, the financing structure, the achievable synergies and the execution risks ultimately determine whether a deal creates or destroys value.

Your challenge: choose one industry, and identify two publicly listed companies in India within that industry that you believe could be potential M&A targets for each other. The transaction may take the form of one company acquiring the other, a merger of the two, or another appropriate form of strategic combination. There is no predetermined correct pair and no correct answer. Your objective is to determine whether the proposed transaction makes strategic and economic sense, and to establish the terms under which it would create value. Teams will be evaluated on the quality of their financial analysis, their assumptions and reasoning, and their ability to build a compelling case for the deal they propose.

Submission Guidelines: Other restrictions on the submission Both companies must be publicly listed in India and operate primarily within the same industry. The proposed transaction must not have already been publicly announced or completed. Only publicly available information may be used, and it must be appropriately cited. Information available up to the date of submission may be used. AI tools may be used to support research and analysis, but AI-generated submissions will be penalised. Decks that read as machine-written, carry unverifiable or fabricated figures, or cite sources that do not support the claim made will lose marks and may be disqualified. Teams remain fully responsible for the accuracy and originality of their analysis. Supporting calculations and sources must be included in an appendix.

Guidelines: The competition comprises an online screening quiz, a six-slide deal-pitch submission, and a live finale at IIM Ahmedabad for the top six teams.

Team Formation: 1 to 3 members per team. Solo entries are permitted. Eligibility Open to students currently enrolled in a full-time postgraduate / MBA programme (PGP, PGDM, MBA, PGPM, EPGP or equivalent) at any recognised institute in India. UG, PhD and working professionals are not eligible for this edition.

Cross-institute teams: allowed.

Cross-programme and cross-year teams: allowed, as long as every member meets the PG/MBA criterion. One team per participant. A participant registered in more than one team disqualifies all teams they are part of. All members must carry a valid institute ID; Beta reserves the right to verify enrolment before disbursing prizes.