PE-VC investments, exits at record high in August 2017: EY

Private equity and venture capital investments in August 2017 hit a record USD 5.4 billion across 45 deals, the highest monthly value of investments ever, says an EY report.

According to EY's monthly PE tracker, there was a 5.4 times jump in PE/VC investments in August as compared to USD 1 billion in August 2016, mainly driven by two mega deals, Softbank's USD 2.5 billion investment in Flipkart and GIC's USD 1.4 billion investment in DLF commercial property assets. In terms of number of deals, there was an 18 per cent growth in August as against 39 deals last year.

The report further said in terms of exits, August 2017 recorded 25 exits totaling USD 1.9 billion, almost 4 times compared to exits in August 2016 and the highest value of exits in a month ever. In terms of volume, at 25 exits, August 2017 recorded an increase of 19 per cent compared to August 2016.

Tiger Global selling its partial stake in Flipkart to Softbank for USD 800 million was the largest exit deal for the month. Moreover, there was only one PE backed IPO in August 2017, which saw CX Partners selling its 4.8 per cent stake in Security and Intelligence Services India for USD 42 million through an Offer for Sale (OFS) in the IPO, the report said.

"The PE/VC numbers for August 2017 were significantly influenced by the two mammoth investments (Softbank and GIC) and the large Flipkart exit. However, even if these were to be excluded, investments and exits recorded healthy activity in both value and volume terms in August," EY Partner Transaction Advisory Services and Private Equity Mayank Rastogi said.

"At this pace, investments should breach USD 20 billion mark and exits the USD 10 billion mark for the first time in the history of the PE/VC industry in India," Rastogi said in the report.