The sub-₹100 crore acquisition market, sized
Four in five approved resolutions on the record paid creditors ₹100 crore or less. This is where India's distressed M&A volume actually lives.
The loudest IBC headlines belong to the whales. The volume lives at the small end. Of 1,451 approved resolutions on the record with a published plan value, 1,169 paid creditors ₹100 crore or less — 81% of the market by count. 155 of them were approved in the last twelve months.
The small end moves faster. From commencement to plan approval, the median sub-₹100 crore resolution took 597 days, against 753 days for larger ones — about 5.1 months less in the process.
Recovery holds up against the statutory floor. Across the 1,108 small resolutions where both figures are published, plans returned 116.4% of liquidation value in aggregate; the median plan returned 118.0%. Measured against what creditors claimed, the median small plan paid 20.1% of admitted claims, against 29.3% for larger ones.
Competition is thinner here. Where the order names every applicant that put a plan in, 52% of small resolutions had two or more plans competing; above ₹100 crore the share was 71%. Fewer rival bidders is a buyer’s opening.
The market is spread across the country and the economy. Mumbai (308), New Delhi (201) and Kolkata (136) benches approved the most; Steel & Metals, Construction & Infrastructure and Food & Agro lead by sector. And the floor is low: 161 approved plans paid creditors under ₹1 crore. A buyer’s full outlay (CIRP costs, working capital, any fresh equity) comes on top of the plan value.