PE, VC investments touch all-time high of $12.9 billion in Oct: Report

Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments touched an all-time high of USD 12.9 billion in October, on the back of high-value deals, a report said on Tuesday.

The investments were 71 per cent higher as compared with October 2020's USD 7.5 billion and 2.5 times the USD 5.2 billion value recorded in September this year, the report by consultancy firm EY and industry lobby IVCA said.

By the number of transactions, the 127 deals in October were higher than the 92 in last October but lower when compared with September's 134.

"The PE/VC deal activity is on a roll in 2021, significantly exceeding the previous all-time highs. Year-to-date October 2021, PE/VC investments have recorded USD 65.6 billion, 38 per cent higher than the previous annual high recorded in 2020," the firm's partner Vivek Soni said.

There were 21 large deals of over USD 100 million each in October aggregating to USD 10.9 billion, it said.

These included the USD 3-billion buyout of Hexaware Technologies by Carlyle, followed by Blackstone's buyout of VFS Global Services for USD 1.9 billion.

Pure-play PE/VC investments, which exclude investments in real estate and infrastructure, also recorded the highest-ever monthly value at USD 12.1 billion, almost 2.5 times the value recorded in October 2020 (USD 4.8 billion) and September 2021 (USD 4.7 billion).

Buyouts were the highest in terms of value in October 2021 at USD 6 billion across six deals, it said adding that start-up investments were at USD 3.8 billion across 97 deals.

October 2021 recorded 24 exits worth USD 5.1 billion compared with the USD 288 million recorded in October 2020 and USD 2.5 billion recorded in September 2021.

Total fundraises of USD 70 million were recorded as compared with USD 1.5 billion raised in October 2020 and USD 740 million raised in September 2021.