Mumbai: The deal street saw a sharp 54% decline in activities in May at $2.8 billion due to fewer large deals, according a report. However, rainmakers are hopeful that formation of a strong government can help the scenario. There were 82 deals involving investments of $2.8 billion in May, which is a 54% decline year-on-year, EY India said Wednesday and attributed the fall to fewer large deals, as there were only five deals of over $100 million during the month.
The dip comes amid data release of sagging GDP growth fuelled largely by a fall in consumption which has been the one of the favourite for investors as well. EY partner Vivek Soni, however, exuded confidence in deal making picking up in the coming months on the back of the "decisive electoral mandate" and a "strong deal pipeline".
Within the $2.8-billion fund inflows, buyouts was the largest category accounting for $1.4 billion. From a sectoral perspective infrastructure was the top pick witnessing $900 million in investments, largely due to the $500-million deal involving GIC and Essel Infraprojects and also the $400-million GIC/KKR deal with India Grid Trust, it said. Investments by sovereign wealth funds and pension funds accounted for over 40% of the total deals in the month, it said. There was a sharp fall in exits as well, down 55% in May at $739 million from the year-ago period.
