Private equity firms invest nearly $ 6 billion during first half of 2013: Grant Thornton

NEW DELHI: Private equity firms have pumped in $ 5.9 billion across 204 deals in the country during first half ended June 2013, a solid increase of 55 per cent compared to same period last year, says a report.


According to audit and advisory firm Grant Thornton, the year began on a sluggish note, but in the second quarter (April-June), there was a significant resurgence in private equity deal activity.

PE deals in April-June period was three-times the level of PE activity seen in the previous quarter with real estate, manufacturing and IT/ITES dominating the space, it said.

There were 11 PE investments worth over $ 100 million. Moreover, there were six above $ 200 million during H1 2013 compared to just one deal over $ 200 million in H1 2012.

Qatar Foundation's $ 1.2 billion investment in Bharti Airtel was the top PE deal in H1 2013.

"A few top PE transactions during the period involved the buyout of existing PE investors, thereby infusing fresh lease of life into exit avenues," the report said.

KKR's multi-million acquisition of a majority stake in Alliance Tire Group (from PE investor Warburg Pincus and the promoters) and Partners Group's $ 270 million buyout of the existing PE investors SAIF, Goldman Sachs and Sierra Ventures in CSS were some instances of big deals.

Bain Capital's $ 1 billion deal with Genpact and KKR's acquisition of Aricent for $ 900 million were also major transactions in the IT space.

Apart from this, Blackstone and the PE arm of global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs were also particularly active on the investing side during the period.

Goldman invested an additional $ 135 million in ReNew Wind Power raising its total investment in the company to $ 385 million. Further, Blackstone invested $ 367 million in a Bangalore tech park -- making it one of the largest real estate PE deals in the country.

"With so many sector chart-topping deals in the period, the first half has definitely ended on a positive note," Grant Thorton India Partner (India Leadership Team) Harish HV said.

"Going forward, we also expect PE activity to maintain momentum as the space is driven by the potential of the Indian economy in the medium term and the focus on the Indian consumption story," the report said.