Private equity (PE) firms invested about $3.2 billion across 76 Indian companies during the quarter ended June 2007, according to a study by Venture Intelligence, a research service focused on private equity and venture capital. This was 64% higher than PE investments during the same period last year, which witnessed 67 deals totalling $1.9 billion.
The largest investment reported during Q2 ?07 was the close to $760 million investment raised by HDFC from Carlyle Group and Citigroup, followed by New York based Avenue Capital Group?s $500 million investment in SKIL Infrastructure.
According to the study, the IT & ITES industry retained its status as the favourite among PE investors during the latest quarter, accounting for over 25 deals worth more than $550 million. Led by the HDFC investment, the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector emerged as the second most favourite among PE investors, accounting for about 15 deals worth almost $1.3 billion. Other industries that attracted significant PE interest during the period included healthcare & life sciences, engineering & construction and shipping & logistics.
?It was surprising to note how manufacturing, which has consistently been the second favourite destination for PE investments over the last several quarters, did not even figure among the top five industries during the latest quarter,? said Arun Natarajan, founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence.
Moreover, venture capital firms invested about $112 million across 19 deals in India during the second quarter of 2007, the study revealed. ?The amount invested during the period was much higher when compared to the corresponding period during 2006 which had witnessed about $40 million being invested,? noted Natarajan. With 17 deals worth about $110 million, the IT & ITES industry retained its status as the favourite among VC investors during April-June 2007. VC investors paid extra attention to BPO and IT services companies during the quarter.
