New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- Private equity and venture capital investment activity slowed this week, although a few large-ticket transactions helped push the overall deal value past the $2-billion mark, according to data collated by VCCircle.
A total of 20 companies raised capital during the five-day period ended August 14, down from 27 last week. However, deal count remained higher than the 13-17 transactions recorded in each of the three preceding weeks.
Despite the decline in deal volume, aggregate deal value rose to $2.1 billion, surpassing last week's $1.8 billion.
Infrastructure and real estate were the dominant sectors by deal value.
In the largest transaction this week, alternative asset manager Alpha Alternatives Fund Advisors LLP is set to acquire a stake from infrastructure developer Dilip Buildcon Ltd (DBL) in two under-construction projects: Mekhali Power Transmission and DBL Renewable.
In another key transaction, Purvah Green Power Pvt Ltd, the renewable energy platform of power utility CESC Ltd, agreed to acquire a 1.4-gigawatt (GWp) operational solar portfolio from ReNew Solar Power Pvt Ltd for an enterprise value of Rs 4,859 crore ($510 million).
The next major deal was in the real estate sector, where Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of the biggest foreign institutional investors in the Indian real estate and infrastructure sector, will invest in Prestige Group's hospitality arm Prestige Hospitality Ventures Ltd (PHVL). CPPIB will invest up to Rs 3,000 crore (around $314.4 million) to acquire up to 28% stake in PHVL, valuing the latter at around $1.1 billion.
Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (Brookfield India REIT) and NCW Asset Management's Prime Offices Fund also agreed to acquire a 264,000-square-feet Grade-A office asset in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for $178 million (Rs 1,700 crore).
In the mid-ticket range, mobility startup Yulu raised $63 million in equity led by GEF Capital Partners, with another $30 million in debt, as part of its Series C round, wealth-tech platform Centricity secured $29.3 million in a mix of equity and debt led by SMBC Asia Rising Fund, and Peak XV led a $45 million round in San Francisco-headquartered startup Blacksmith.
Scrubsy, Ayati Devices, Wippi, Lane, and Vecton AI secured early-stage funding.
On the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) front, activity remained subdued, with five transactions disclosed this week, as against six last week.
The most notable, and the largest, deal of the week saw Bank of America agreeing to acquire as much as a 49.9% stake in the non-bank lending arm of Jio Financial Services in a $1.92 billion deal.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.