Jio platforms accounted for 85 pc of all PE/VC investments in May

Private equity and venture capital investments almost doubled in May 2020 on year on year basis.

Jio Platforms received $4.6 billion in PE/VC investments in May 2020, accounting for 85 per cent of all PE/VC investments during the month.

The Financial services sector accounts for over 60 per cent of all PE/VC exits by value and volume in May.

Fundraises in the first five months of 2020 are a third of the funds raised during the same period last year.

Exits recorded $286 million across 11 deals, with financial services sector accounting for over 60 per cent of all exits by value and volume.

Vivek Soni, Partner and National Leader - Private Equity Services, EY India said, "The fundraising spree by Jio Platforms has pushed Indian PE/VC investment in May 2020 above $5 billion. Adjusting for these marquee deals, Indian PE/VC investment activity is on a downward trajectory.  Nonetheless, these deals help highlight investor confidence in the India story".

The defensive sectors are witnessing renewed interest from investors. In May 2020, life sciences sector received the second highest amount of PE/VC investments of $354 million (after telecom).

On the exits front, financial services sector recorded the highest value of exits as investors looked to book some profits in listed securities after the recent recovery in the equity indices.

"Given that the curve of COVID cases is yet to flatten decisively in some zones that account for a large part of the country's economic activity, the virus will continue to remain a major headwind that both the government and private enterprises will need to tackle in the near future till such time a definitive cure is found," Soni said.

If not for Jio Platforms, PE/VC investments would have recorded a fourth straight month of decline, recording just $791 million in investments, a 72 per cent y-o-y decline and 15% lower than April 2020. In terms of volume, deals in May 2020 declined 28 per cent y-o-y and 23 per cent sequentially (58 deals in May 2020 vs. 80 deals in May 2019 vs. 75 deals in April 2020).