Value of PE deals surges in July despite falling in number

114 PE deals in January-July, down 47per cent.

The first signs of recovery in the private equity and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) space in the Indian market have emerged, with the value of such transactions showing a significant pick up, according to data from Grant Thornton, the accounting and taxation consultancy.

The value of private equity deals in July surged a whopping 207 per cent, to $1.99 billion(Rs 9,600 crore), the data showed. Sequentially, too, the performance in July is better than the $512.72 million (Rs 2,475 crore) worth of deals in June.

The number of such deals, however, fell to 21, down from 29 in the year ago period. Out of the 21, there were 10 qualified institutional placement issues. A comparison in terms of the January-July period reveals a slightly different picture. In the first seven months of the calendar year, there were 114 PE deals worth $4.89 billion (Rs 23,600 crore) In the year ago period, there were 214 deals amounting to $7.58 billion (Rs 37,000 crore).

On the M&A deals front, momentum seems to be picking up, with the value of such deals in July surging nearly 54.2 per cent, year on year, to $982.5 million (Rs 4,740 crore). The performance also seems to be better compared to $850.6 million (Rs 4,200 crore) worth of M&A deals in June. The number of such deals in July, however, fell to 35, down from 44 a year ago. Out of the 35, there were 20 domestic deals, with the remaining being cross-border transactions.

During January-July, the total number of M&A deals stood at 158, valued at $5.91billion (Rs 29,500 crore). In the corresponding period of the previous year, there were 313 deals worth $16.73 billion (Rs 80,715 crore).

“Both M&A and private equity have seen significant increase in activity in July, compared with the same period in the previous year. M&A volume has been the highest in the last 10 months during July,” C G Srividya, partner, specialist advisory services, Grant Thornton India, said.