Some of the major inbound deals -- wherein a foreign company or its subsidiary had acquired an Indian entity – in the past, includes BP's USD 9 billion acquisition of Reliance Industries' oil & gas assets and the acquisition of Cairn India by NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal led-Vedanta Resources for over USD 8 billion.

The United Kingdom has been one of the top acquirers of Indian assets over the years as another most prominent inbound deal also involved a UK entity -- Vodafone Group. It acquired Essar's stake in Vodafone Essar for USD 5 billion.

Other key inbound transactions include Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo Company's acquisition of majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for up to USD 4.6 billion and US-based Abbott's acquisition of Piramal Healthcare's domestic

formulation business for USD 3.72 billion.

Commenting on the deal Deloitte India Leader, Financial Advisory Avinash Gupta said, "This is most likely the largest inbound deal so far this year but it is not a trend and it does not signify that many more such inbound deals are likely to happen. This is just a unique situation where a deal has happened."

World's largest spirits maker Diageo Plc today announced it will acquire 53.4 per cent stake in United Spirits for Rs 11,166.5 crore in a multi-structured deal, which may provide Vijay Mallya a breather from troubles emanating from the grounded Kingfisher Airlines.