PE investments rise 55% to USD 4.35 bn in Dec qtr: PwC

New Delhi: Private equity investments in the country witnessed a stellar fourth quarter in 2014 with deals worth USD 4.35 billion, registering the best quarterly performance since the December quarter of 2007, says a report.

According to the PwC MoneyTree India report, a quarterly study of private equity investment activity, deals in the December quarter of 2014 totalled USD 4.35 billion in value terms across 107 such transactions.

Despite a 9 percent drop in the number of transactions compared with the previous quarter, the total deal value rose by 55 percent - the highest since December quarter of 2007, which saw investments worth USD 5.40 billion.

The investment value doubled, in comparison with the same period last year, with just a 4 per cent increase in volume.

During October-December 2013 period, the total investment was USD 2.21 billion across 103 deals.
Sector-wise, the IT & IT-enabled services retained the top slot, attracting USD 2.56 billion through 59 deals, which is more than half of the total investments, driven largely by investments in the e-commerce sector.

"E-commerce contributed significantly to the surge in the private equity investments during the calender year 2014. This is expected to continue as e-commerce businesses attempt to keep themselves well capitalised.

Online marketplaces like Flipkart and Snapdeal led the race, followed by niche companies such as Urban Ladder and OlaCabs.

"The e-commerce sector is expected to continue on the growth trajectory in 2015, with more investments driven by likely improvements in regulatory environment and policy," PwC India leader, Technology, Sandeep Ladda said.

As per the report, the IT & ITeS sector was followed by the banking and financial industry which attracted a total investment of USD 563 million.

Mumbai made a comeback to the top slot with regard to PE investments - both in terms of value and volume of deals - in the quarter with investments worth USD 1.01 billion from 29 deals.

Interestingly, smaller cities such as Thrissur in Kerala and Jaipur in Rajasthan also hogged the limelight with USD 200 million from one deal and USD 112 million from two deals, respectively.