New Delhi, July 10 -- Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) deal activity declined for the second consecutive week during the five-day period ending July 10, signalling a return to subdued investment activity, data collated by VCCircle showed.

A total of 21 companies raised an aggregate $121.1 million (Rs 1,151 crore) during the week, down from 28 firms that secured $203 million in the previous week, the data showed.

Investment activity remained well below levels seen in the second half of June, when companies collectively raised more than $2 billion over the final two weeks of the month.

Financial services, healthcare, capital goods, and education emerged as the key sectors attracting investor interest.

The week's largest PE-VC transaction involved non-bank lender Aseem Infrastructure Finance, which will be acquired by a consortium led by US private equity firm TPG. While the deal value was not disclosed, media reports pegged it at around Rs 5,000 crore.

Another notable transaction saw healthcare-focussed private equity firm OrbiMed invest $37 million in Chennai-based fertility chain Iswarya Health.

Among deals below $25 million, capital goods manufacturer Adage Automation secured investment from InCred Growth Partners Fund, higher education platform Elevate Education bagged funding in a WestBridge Capital-led round, and auto components manufacturer JRG Automotive Industries pocketed funding from Piramal Alternatives

Investors including Amara Partners, Rainmatter, Version One Ventures, and Caret Capital, also backed early-stage companies such as Karamtara Engineering, Econovus Packaging, Mowito, and Milo Drive.

Meanwhile, the absence of big-ticket transactions kept M&A activity subdued. Although the number of deals rose to 10 from six the previous week, their combined value stood at just over $288 million.

The biggest M&A deal of the week was defence electronics manufacturer Apollo Micro Systems Ltd's agreement to acquire a 41.33% stake in Premier Explosives from AKS Family Trust for $162.4 million.

The second-largest deal was in financial services, with South Korea's NH Investment & Securities Co investing $94.3 million in Choice Equity Broking.

In real estate, Ventive Hospitality Ltd, a joint venture between private equity firm Blackstone and Pune-based developer Panchshil Realty Ltd, agreed to acquire Kelzai Eco Reserves Pvt Ltd, which owns a 420-acre property, for $29.5 million.

Other notable deals included BlackSoil's acquisition of Credit Fair's solar financing business, Aviva taking full ownership of Aviva Life Insurance Company after buying out its local partner Dabur Invest Corp, and Gujarat Kidney and Superspeciality acquiring Blue Tree Clinics in the UAE for $2 million.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.