Investments in PE/VC segment fell for the third consecutive session in October, shows a report by Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and consulting firm EY. In terms of number of deals, October recorded 91 deals, which were 7% lower than 98 deals in September.
However, the total PE/VC investments in India stood at US$43.7 billion, 16.5% higher than the previous high of US$37.5 billion recorded in the entire 2018.
Infrastructure, financial services and technology were the top three sectors that saw significant PE/VC investment in October. Investments in infrastructure accounted for 43% of the total investments in October 2019 compared to 6% in October 2018.
The largest deals in the infrastructure sector were– Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (AIDA), Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’s (NIIF) US$1.1 billion investment in GVK Airport Holdings Limited.
“Like in previous months, the infrastructure sector has contributed a significant share to the deal value in October 2019 with over US$1.4 billion in PE/VC investments. Global buyout, pension and sovereign funds continue to take large bets in the Indian infrastructure sector and this trend is expected to remain strong in the near future” said Vivek Soni, Partner and National Leader Private Equity Services, EY in a press release.
The number of deals in value greater than US$100 million saw 5 large deals aggregating to US$2.2 billion compared to 11 large deals worth US$2.6 billion in September.
“2019 is expected to be one of the better investment vintages for the Indian PE/VC industry. However, uncertainties around US-China trade talks and global as well as domestic growth could dampen the sentiment in the short-term. Nonetheless, limited partners (LP) and general partners (GP) interest in India’s long-term growth prospects remains intact.” added Vivek.