PE inflows jump 118% in H1 to $11.82 bn

Private equity investment inflows to domestic firms soared two-fold in the first half of 2021 to $11.82 billion over the year-ago period when the whole world was under lockdowns due to the first wave of the killer virus, show industry data.

Fund inflows jumped over 77 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 to $7.55 billion compared to $4.26 billion in the first quarter, according to the data collated by Refinitiv, the London Stock Exchange Group's financial markets data and insights arm.

However, volume growth was a tepid 8.8 per cent in Q2 at 296 transactions up from 272 in Q1, totalling the counts in the first half to 568, against 365 transaction in the year-ago period.

Total inflows in the first half of 2020 were $5.43 billion across 365 deals, while in the first quarter these were $3.92 billion across 183 deals and the second quarter at $1.51 billion across 182 deals, according to Refinitiv.

The whole of 2020 saw a whopping $34.96 billion flowing into 708 domestic companies which was the highest on record, while it was only $15.31 billion in 2019, $11.2 billion in 2018, $11.9 billion (2017), $5.02 billion (2016), $8.2 billion (2015), $5.99 billion (2014), $3.24 billion (2013), $3.87 billion (2012), $4.4 billion (2011) and $3.89 billion in 2010, according to Refinitiv data.

The top ten deals of the first half of 2021 are: Think & Learn ($1.32 billion), Bundl Technologies ($800 million), Mohalla Tech ($502 million), Sporta Technologies ($355.6 million), Axelia Solutions ($350 million), Brainbees Solutions ($315 million), Zomato ($302 million), Meesho Payments ($300 million), Pine Labs ($285 million), and Dreamplug Technologies  ($272.11 million), according to Refinitiv.

Over 40 per cent of the total inflows were into the online space worth $4.52 billion in H1, up over 73 per cent y-o-y, across 210 deals (vs 149 y-o-y), followed by financials.

Investments into the online sector have increased 73.2 per cent, with the number of deals rising from 149 in H1 of 2020 to 201 in H1 of 2021.

Fund flows into software companies rose 261 per cent,  financial services rose 44 per cent, medical health and consumer related companies by 64 per cent each.

However, there was a steep decline in fund raising in the country during the reporting period. Fundraising for Q2 stood at $684.49 million compared to $1.62 billion in Q1.