Private Equity Firms Invest Over US$528-M in India During July-Sept. 2005

Renewal of interest among PE firms to invest in IT & ITES companies and highly successful exits like HT Media and I-flex were the highlights of the latest quarter, a Venture Intelligence India study reveals.

(PRWEB) October 8, 2005 -- Private Equity and Venture Capital firms invested over half-a-billion US dollars in India during the three months ended September 2005. According to data from Venture Intelligence India which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide, PE firms invested about US$ 528 million across 28 India-based companies during the latest quarter. “The amount invested was significantly higher compared to the same period last year (during which 8 companies had raised about $90 million) as well as the April-June 2005 quarter (which had witnessed 36 investments totalling about $395 million),” said Arun Natarajan of Venture Intelligence India.

The $100 million invested by Newbridge Capital in Shriram Holdings, the truck financing holding company of the Shriram Group, was the largest deal announced during the period. The second largest investment in the quarter was ICICI Ventures’ $59.8 million buyout of the refractory business of Associated Cement Companies (ACC), according to the Venture Intelligencer India survey. Nimbus Communications and Perlecan Pharma (a spin-off from Dr.Reddy's Labs), both of which raised $45 million, were tied in third place.

With six deals worth about $55 million, the IT & ITES sector re-emerged on the radar of PE firms during the quarter. IT companies that raised PE funding during the period include Nevis Networks, July Systems, VisualSoft Technologies and Four Soft. Manufacturing, which was the most active sector during the previous quarter, followed second with five investments worth $98 million. PE firms also continued to favour sectors like healthcare & life sciences, textiles and media.

Mega Exits
PE firms obtained exit routes for their investments in 11 Indian companies during the latest quarter, including three via IPOs. HT Media’s $86 million IPO was the largest PE-backed IPO during the period, the Venture Intelligence India survey revealed. The July-September quarter also witnessed two mega-sized exits via M&A deals: Essar Group’s $1.56 billion acquisition of BPL Communications and Oracle Corp’s $593 million buyout of Citigroup Venture Capital’s stake in i-flex Solutions.

About Venture Intelligence India
Venture Intelligence India, a division of Chennai, India-based TSJ Media Pvt. Ltd., is the leading source of information on private equity, venture capital and M&A deals in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. For more information, please visit www.ventureintelligence.in.

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