Private equity activity in India witnessed an uptick in August with a combined deal value ofhighlight, accounting for over half the cumulative deal value, according to research and consultancy firm Grant Thornton’s latest ‘Dealtracker’ report.

IT, ITeS lead The Bain-Genpact deal enabled the part-exit of Genpact’s existing investors, General Atlantic Partners and Oak Hill Partners. Two other large PE deals that took place during the month were SBI Macquire Private Equity’s $150 million investment in Ashok Concessions and Nasper and Tiger Global’s $150 million investment in Flipkart, which contributed over 16 per cent of the total deal value.

A break-up of the deal activity indicates that 68 per cent of PE investments were focused on the IT and ITeS sector, while eight per cent went to infrastructure management and another eight per cent on travel and tourism. While four per cent of the deal tally was accounted for by the pharma, healthcare and biotech sector, two per cent of the deals were in the manufacturing space.

The PE deal value in August 2012 was three times higher than in the corresponding month of the previous year and nearly six times higher than the level seen in 2010. In contrast, merger and acquisition activity was muted during the month. The total value of inbound M&A during August 2012 was $0.3 billion from 11 deals, compared to $1.5 billion from 11 deals in August 2011 and $1.15 billion from seven deals in August 2010.

Indian companies were also cautious on outbound M&A during the period, with just nine deals valued at $40 million recorded during the period under review. In comparison, 11 deals worth $0.8 billion and 15 deals worth $140 million were inked during the same month of 2011 and 2010, respectively. Domestic deal activity involving Indian companies stood at $0.6 billion from 17 deals in August.

This was a 33 per cent decline from $0.9 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year, but a significant improvement from $90 million from 15 deals in 2010. The top sector for M&A was real estate, accounting for 49 per cent of the deal value, followed by pharma, healthcare and biotech with a 20 per cent share. While 11 per cent of the M&A deal value was enjoyed by the IT and ITeS sector, the shipping and ports and manufacturing sector cornered four per cent each