India PE deals reach $8.57b in first three quarters of 2011
Private equity firms invested approximately $2.25 billion in 98 deals in India in the third quarter of 2011, bringing the industry’s total to $8.57 billion in 317 transactions for January-September. This marks a significant increase on the $6.4 billion invested in 270 transactions for the same period in 2010, according to research from Venture Intelligence.
Venture Intelligence additionally found that private equity investment in 2011 to date - excluding PE investments in real estate - has already surpassed the $8.26 billion across 358 transactions recorded in the whole of 2010.
Investment for the third quarter was lower than the $2.36 billion invested across 111 deals the same quarter last year, and also dipped below the second quarter figures of $2.91 billion across 122 deals. However, the median investment value of $10 million was higher than that seen in either the third quarter of 2010 or the second quarter of 2011.
The largest transactions during the period include Blackstone's $261 million investment in SKS Chhattisgarh Power Generation; Blackstone's $111 million investment in Visa Power; and Goldman Sachs' $204 million commitment to ReNew Wind Power, suggesting that energy investments are a prime target for private equity in the market. Venture Intelligence found that, in the quarter, energy attracted $823 million across 16 transactions.
The IT sector followed energy in terms of popularity, garnering $437 million across 29 transactions - led by SoftBank's $200 million investment in InMobi - and infrastructure services trailed with $279 million across eight investments.
Indian private equity also saw 20 exits during the quarter, which included one IPO, for Tree House Education, backed by Matrix Partners. There were 26 exits, including three IPOs, in the same period of 2010, and 17 exits, and one IPO, in the second quarter of 2011.
Separately researched was private equity investment into real estate, which accounted for 14 investments, which reached $388 million across eight deals with disclosed values. This was also down on the activity seen in teh third quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, .
Blackstone's $200 million investment in Bangalore's Manyata Embassy Business Park was the largest real estate deal in the most recent quarter.
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