Private Equity In 2014: Lessons Learnt And Expectations In 2015!

Just as we gear up to the 'transformational' Budget 2015 as promised by the Modi Government, we bring to you a crisp summary of how private equity ("PE") performed in 2014, what were the lessons learnt and what lies ahead.

India witnessed an increase in the number and size of PE investments made in 2014 aggregating to around $11.5 billion, which is 17% higher in terms of the total investment value as compared to the same period last year¹. E-commerce (led by Flipkart with two major rounds of funding)² followed by financial services, power and energy and engineering drove most of the activity with renewed interest in real estate sector as well. In the past years, exit routes have always remained one of the key det errents for investors to invest into India, however last year we saw as many as 221 exits (including part-exit tranches) amounting to around $3.8 billion³. Following are some of transaction trends / issues that gained significance in 2014, and which may be