PE/VCs invest $6.8 bn in Indian cos in November: Report

Investments by private equity and venture capital funds in November stood at USD 6.8 billion across 102 deals, which is double by value when compared with the pandemic-impacted year-ago period but half of the bets in the preceding month of October, as per a report. In November 2020, such high-risk investors had infused USD 3.9 billion, while in October, the total investments had stood at USD 13.1 billion, the monthly data shared by industry lobby IVCA and the consultancy EY said.

The overall investments in the first 11 months of the year have touched USD 72.6 billion, which is 53 per cent higher than the all-time high for a year achieved in 2020, it said.

In November, the activity was dominated by USD 2.4 billion of investments into start-ups and exits by private equity companies in nine initial public offerings, EY’s partner Vivek Soni said.

“Although India has found itself in a macro-economic and geo-political sweet spot, downside risks remain. The rise in domestic inflation on account of surging global energy prices, any potential slowdown in the government’s reform agenda in view of upcoming important state elections and the threat of a new variant driven third COVID wave remain key speed bumps to watch out for in the coming months,” he added.

November recorded 17 large deals of over USD 100 million each which alone totalled to USD 5.4 billion, while the pure-play PE and VC investments (excluding the ones in infrastructure and real estate) stood at USD 5.7 billion, it said.

The largest deals in November include the USD 1.5 billion buyout of Encora Digital by Advent and USD 840 million investment in Dream11 by a group of investors including Falcon Edge, D1 Capital, Tiger Global, TPG and others, it said, adding technology was the favourite sector for investments, followed by e-commerce.

The month recorded 21 exits worth USD 3.6 billion, as against USD 974 million in November 2020 and USD 5.3 billion in October.

Total funds raised for investments in the future stood at USD 610 million compared to USD 20 million in November 2020 and USD 70 million raised in October 2021, the report said.