Private equity investments drop 46% to $5.8 bn in 6 months

New Delhi: After a ‘dream run’ last year, private equity investments eased in the first half of this year with deals worth $5.8 billion, down nearly 46 percent as investors went on a ‘wait and watch’ mode. According to News Corp VCCEdge, PE [caption id=“attachment_2334664” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AP[/caption] investments in India, excluding real estate, deals worth $10.6 billion were recorded during the January-June period of last year. There were 643 deals, down 13 percent compared to 737 deals a year ago. Moreover, median deal value too was down to $1 million from $1.58 million. Sector-wise, information technology, financials, industrials, consumer discretionary and utilities were the top five sectors to attract significant private equity capital during the quarter. India’s financial capital, Mumbai, continues to be a hotbed for M&A while Delhi NCR leads the private equity activity in the country, the report added. The year so far has seen a stark increase in angel investments, while institutional funding across venture and late stage have slowed down considerably. While the Southern States like Karnataka continue to top in cornering investor capital, North Indian states like Rajasthan and Punjab pip Western states like Maharashtra in deal volume and value growth, the report said. Karnataka with 144 deals worth $2,318.76 million pipped Maharashtra with 141 deals worth $1,141.91 million. Delhi with 98 deals worth $508.76 million was third in terms of volumes, while Haryana attracted $735 million, the report added. In value terms, while the eastern region saw over 68 percent decline, the western region saw over 60 percent fall in PE investments.