PE inflows spurt 15 pc in 2021 at USD 40 bn

Private equity investments hit a record high of $40.1 billion in 2021, an increase of over 15 per cent from the previous year, led by a $3.6 billion flow into Flipkart and $1.93 billion into Bundl Technologies, as per a report.

According to the data collated by Refinitiv, an LSEG business, while the value of inflows rose 15.2 per cent from $34.8 bn in 2020 to $40.1 bn in 2021, the deal volume soared to 990 in the reporting year from 588 in 2020.

Analysts at the agency expect the inflow momentum to continue in 2022 as technology companies, especially start-ups, continue to attract capital from both private and public markets.

Internet specific companies attracted maximum PE interest in 2021 with their total investments scaling to $20.74 bn from a low $7.6 mn in 2020. Meanwhile, fund raising by domestic/India-focused PEs rose to $4.72 billion, a marginal 5 per cent growth over $4.5 billion in 2020. The top 10 PE deals of the year included the $3.6 bn raised by Flipkart, Bundl Technologies ($1.925 billion),