Deal volume and value drops in Q3 of 2012: Grant Thornton

The climate for acquisitions and new investments remained subdued across corporate India during the quarter ended September 2012. The number of transactions pertaining to mergers and acquisitions and private equity were down to 203 from 238 in the same period in the last calendar year.

In terms of value, these deals were worth $7.12 billion in the July-September period this year, a decline of 23% from the corresponding period last year, according to data from Grant Thornton, an advisory firm .

The number of large ticket transactions have come down significantly as deal makers are adopting a wait-and-watch policy owing to the ongoing economic turmoil. "Unlike the boom period of 2007, the number of large deals are much smaller now. The ones that are getting sealed are done through thorough due-diligence keeping the fundamentals in account instead of just mere speculation," said a Mumbai-based investment banker.

Bain Capital Partners’ acquisition of stake in Gurgaon-based BPO firm Genpact for approximately $1 billion in a secondary transaction, was the largest private equity investment during the third quarter of 2012, by a huge margin, with no other investment crossing the $200 million figure.

Bain acquired the stake from the previous private equity investors - General Atlantic and Oak Hill Capital.