February sees PE deals worth $300 mn: E&Y

NEW DELHI: Private equity deals worth USD 300 million were announced in February, with the financial sector accounting for over half of the total transaction value, according to global consultancy Ernst & Young.

"February 2011 recorded announced deals worth USD 300 million. This was a decline of 39 per cent from January 2011 and 38 per cent from February 2010," as per E&Y data.

Out of the total deal value, the largest was that related to Ratnakar Bank, which was worth over USD 150 million.

"Largest deal of the month - Ratnakar Bank raised fresh money from a number of PE investors including TVS Capital, Beacon India Private Equity Fund, Cartica Capital, Faering Capital and Norwest Venture Partners among others," E&Y said.

Real estate sector accounted for about 15 per cent of the PE deals in February.

However, experts felt that a trend cannot be inferred from just one month's data on private equity investments.

Meanwhile, E&Y noted that the highest number of deals was also recorded in retail and consumer products at five, followed by four deals in the financial services sector.

Last month, three funds raised a total of USD 698 million.

Among other exits, Milestone Capital exit from its two real estate projects -- Chennai-based Stone Arc and Mumbai-based Raheja Titanium -- in February.