PEs pump it in, investments hit a record $5.89 bn in Jul-Sep

New Delhi: Private equity investments in July-September surged to a record high of USD 5.89 billion, taking the deal value for the first nine months of the year to USD 13 billion, says a report.

It is further poised to cross the historical highs of 2007, when the private equity investments was at USD 14.7 billion in 2015.

According to a quarterly study of PE investment activity by Venture Intelligence, such investments in the three months ended September 30, 2015, totalled USD 5.89 billion across 177 deals, higher than the previous quarter when 126 transactions worth USD 2.62 billion were announced.

"With the nine-month investment tally touching USD 13 billion (across 504 transactions), private equity investments in India for 2015 are poised to cross the historical highs of 2007," it added.

The mega deals in the Internet sector ensured IT and ITeS companies grabbed 57 percent of the PE investment by value. The sector attracted USD 3.36 billion in 107 deals during the third quarter of 2015.

This is followed by energy companies that pulled in USD 549 million across seven transactions.

According to the report, there were as many as 16 PE investments worth at least USD 100 million, with seven of them above USD 200 million in the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared with three such transactions in the same period last year and 11 in the immediate previous quarter.

"Apart from Internet 'Unicorns' of Flipkart, Snapdeal and Ola - which raised USD 700 million, USD 500 million and USD 245 million, respectively - other large PE investments included the USD 500 million investment by TA Associates and India Value Fund in ACT Broadband," it added.