Investments
PE/VC investments in October 2019 (US$3.3 billion) were at par with October 2018 (US$3.3 billion), however were 11.5% lower compared to September 2019 (US$3.7 billion). The total PE/VC investments in India, year-to-date, now stand at US$43.7 billion, which is 16.5% higher than the previous high of US$37.5 billion recorded in entire 2018. In terms of number of deals, October 2019 recorded 42% higher deals compared to October 2018 but 7% lower compared to September 2019 (91 deals in October 2019 vs. 64 deals in October 2018 and 98 deals in September 2019).
From a sector point of view, infrastructure (US$1.4 billion), financial services (US$832 million) and technology (US$278 million) were the top three sectors in terms of PE/VC investments in October 2019. Investments in infrastructure accounted for 43% of the total PE/VC investments in October 2019 compared to 6% in October 2018.
October 2019 recorded five large deals (value greater than US$100 million) aggregating US$2.2 billion compared to seven large deals worth US$2.7 billion in October 2018 and 11 large deals worth US$2.6 billion in September 2019. The largest deals announced in October 2019 was in the infrastructure sector – Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (AIDA), Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’s (NIIF) US$1.1 billion investment in GVK Airport Holdings Limited.
In terms of deal type, growth deals recorded the highest value of investments in October 2019 at US$1.7 billion across 16 deals, compared to 15 deals worth US$1.9 billion in October 2018 followed by start-up investments worth US$717 million across 64 deals (US$281 million across 33 deals in October 2018) and buyouts at US$500 million across five deals (US$941 million across five deals in October 2018).
Exits
October 2019 recorded 14 exits worth US$960 million, 30% lower than the value of exits recorded in October 2018 (US$1.4 billion) and 64% lower than September 2019 (US$2.6 billion) which had recorded the large US$1.5 billion partial buyback by Oyo’s founder.
In October 2019, open market exits were highest at US$878 million across eight deals, accounting for 91% of total exits by value. October 2019 recorded the highest monthly value of open market exits in two years. There was no PE-backed Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2019.
The largest exit in October 2019 saw Fairfax sell its 9.9% stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited in the open market for US$732 million.
Financial services (US$875 million across six deals) was the top sector in October 2019, accounting for 91% of all exits by value.
Fund raise
October 2019 recorded total fund raises of US$403 million compared to US$641 million raised in October 2018. Xander’s US$250 million platform for investments in the industrial realty (logistics and e-commerce) sector was the largest fund raise in October 2019.