Startups led PE and M&A deal volume in July with 39 deals: Grant Thornton Bharat

According to the most recent Grant Thornton Bharat Deal tracker, which reports Private Equity (PE) and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals for the month, startups accounted for 44% of all private equity volumes in July with 29 deals totalling US$ 133 million.

With 66 deals totalling US$ 1.1 billion, PE deals suffered a little dip, which is significant because it is the second-lowest monthly volumes and values since August 2020.

In the startup sector, the retail segment dominated the deal activity, followed by edtech, fintech and enterprise segments, collectively contributing to 55% of the startup sector’s volumes. The average PE deal size stood at US$ 16.5 million compared to US$ 12 million in July 2022.

95 PE and M&A transactions totalling US$ 3.1 billion were reported during the month. Despite a 46% drop-in deal activity compared to the same time in 2022, the market experienced a 58% increase in deal value. The development of nine large-scale transactions totalling more than US$ 100 million and totalling an astonishing US$ 2.1 billion served as the driving force behind this growth.

Mr. Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth, Grant Thornton Bharat, stated that the impact of the global economic slowdown is also being felt in the deal activity in India as it has been subdued since the beginning of the year compared to 2022.

In terms of M&A deals, the volume, led by startups, recorded a 17% decline even as there was a staggering 7x increase in values in July this year in contrast to July 2022. This surge was anchored by 29 deals valued at US$ 2 billion, where six high-value transactions encompassing traditional sectors like Information Technology (IT), auto, retail, and manufacturing took centre stage.

In July, 10 startup M&A transactions totalling US$ 244 million were disclosed. Startups in the retail sector had the highest volume, accounting for 40% of the agreements with a total value of US$ 58 million. By accounting for 41% of the startup sector's total values, the data analytics, big data, and AI segment took the lead in terms of values.

According to the article, Zyber 365 Technologies, India's first unicorn startup of the year, raised US$ 100 million in Series A fundraising in July at a valuation of US$ 1.2 billion, making it the quickest unicorn in both India and Asia.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.