India In Sight #87
Weekly updates on Indian private markets. Featuring 'India growth equity report 2025' by Praxis and IVCA
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Key reports in this edition:
India growth equity report 2025 by Praxis and IVCA
Deals at a glance: Annual review 2024 by PWC
Private market outlook and investor views by Preqin
Electric Vehicle Report 2025 by Inc42
India Office: Setting new standards for 2025 by Colliers
KEY DEALS
Equity
Nexus Select Trust, India's first retail-focused REIT, acquired Vega City Mall in Bengaluru for c.$107 million from Blue Horizon Hotels. (February 14, 2025)
PMI Electro Mobility, an electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, secured c.$30 million from a consortium of investors led by Authum Investment & Infrastructure. Other investors include Antique Securities, Gruhas VC and HNIs. (February 14, 2025)
EnCharge AI, a semiconductor startup developing analog memory chips for AI applications, raised c.$100 million in its Series B funding round led by Tiger Global. (February 13, 2025)
Rapido, a ride-hailing platform, secured c.$30 million in a Series E funding round from Prosus, a global technology investor. (February 13, 2025)
SpotDraft, a contract lifecycle management software platform, raised c.$54 million in its Series B funding round led by Vertex Growth Singapore and Trident Partners. Other investors include Xeed VC, Arkam Ventures, Prosus Ventures, and Premji Invest. (February 13, 2025)
Lucidity, a multi-cloud storage management platform, raised c.$21 million in its Series A funding round led by WestBridge Capital and Alpha Wave. (February 12, 2025)
ONGC-NTPC Green Energy, a JV between state-owned oil and gas company ONGC and thermal power company NTPC, fully acquired Ayana Renewable Power, a renewable energy company, for an enterprise value of c.$2.3 billion, from the existing investors (National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), British International Investment Fund (BII) and Everstone Capital). (February 12, 2025)
Jashvik Capital, a domestic mid-market PE firm, acquired a significant stake in Midas Hygiene, a manufacturer of pest control, insecticides and home care products. The financial details were not disclosed. (February 11, 2025)
ToneTag, a voice-based payment and commerce solutions provider, raised c.$78 million in a mix of primary and secondary deal led by ValueQuest Scale Fund and Iron Pillar. (February 11, 2025)
Zeta, a banking tech company, secured c.$50 million in a funding round from a strategic investor (name undisclosed) at an estimated valuation of c.$2 billion. The exact financial details were not disclosed. (February 11, 2025)
SBFC Finance, an MSME focused lender, secured c.$46 million in funding from British International Investment (BII). (February 11, 2025)
[Exit] Athaang Infrastructure, a roads platform owned by NIIF, to sell two road assets to Cube Highways Trust, an infrastructure focused investor, for c.$480 million. (February 10, 2025)
[Exit] CVC Capital to sell its c.67% stake in Gujarat Titans, a cricket team in the Indian Premier League franchise, to Torrent Group, a Gujarat-based multinational conglomerate, for an estimated $850+ million. (February 12, 2025)
Credit
Vedanta Group to raise c.$350 million via unsecured, rated, listed, redeemable NCDs on a private placement basis. (February 11, 2025)
KEY FUNDS AND FUNDRAISES
National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) is looking to launch its maiden private credit fund with a target corpus of c.$2 billion, which could be the biggest private credit fund in India. (February 12, 2025)
IXP, a lifesciences focused VC backed by JV Ventures, to launch its maiden fund with a target corpus of c.$25 million to invest in early-stage companies.
MARKET INSIGHTS & RESEARCH
Reports
Praxis and IVCA’s ‘India growth equity report 2025’ highlights that India’s private investment deal activity hit $60B across 1,595 deals in 2024, with growth-stage investments at $10B (vs $15B in 2023). Average deal size fell ~50% to $30M. Despite $600B in required growth-stage funding, only 10% of active companies secured investments. SaaS/AI, consumer platforms, and ecommerce led funding, with growth-stage exits reaching $4B (up 33%), driven by public market exits (60%). Fundraising remained stable at $3.2B, with 70+ dedicated growth funds active since 2020.
PWC’s ‘Deals at a glance: Annual review 2024’ reports a 42% YoY surge in deal volume to 2,600+ transactions ($112B, up 48% YoY). M&A rose by 52% to $72B while PE deals grew by 34% YoY to $40B. 91 IPOs raised a record $19B. Average M&A deal size dropped to $91M from $100M and average PE deal size dropped to $34M from $46M.
Preqin’s ‘Private market outlook and investor views’ highlight India’s resilient private market amid APAC’s fundraising slowdown, with VC deals rebounding in 2024. India-focused AUM remains stable, led by PE and private debt, which holds the largest single-country AUM in the region. Secondary stock purchases are driving VC exits, while India is increasingly seen as a key region for alternative investments.
Inc42’s ‘Electric Vehicle (EV) Report 2025’ projects Indian EV market to go from $54.4B in 2025 to $132.2B by 2030 (up by 2.4x), driven by government initiatives and tech advancements. 1.3M EVs sold in 2024 with 662K+ being 2W. In the 3W PV segment, EV penetration remains at 5%–7%, hindered by high costs. The market lacks 4W passenger EVs tailored for fleets, with prices still higher vs CNG and ICE.
Colliers’ report on ‘India office sector’ outlines that demand will continue to solidify at 65-70M sq ft during 2025, driven by demand scale-up across the top 6 cities. 60-65M sq ft of new supply is expected to get operational in the coming year. GCC leasing to see 10-12% p.a. growth (25-30M sq ft in 2025). c.80-85% of the office space demand is to come from green-certified buildings. Engineering, BFSI, and Flex spaces to emerge as key demand drivers; sectoral leasing to grow by 10-15%.
Articles
LPs at the IVCA Conclave 2025 urged investors to explore exit strategies beyond IPOs. FII outflows and stock market corrections signal the need for a revised playbook. While India remains an attractive market, high valuations and limited exit options remain key concerns. Read more.
In 2024, the real estate sector led QIP issuances, raising c.$2.5B (16% of total QIPs) through eight developers and one REIT, the highest among all sectors. Total QIP fundraising peaked at c.$16.5B across 99 issues, c.3x higher than 2023. Institutional investors remain bullish on real estate. Read more.
Private funding for Indian EV startups dropped 31% to $624M across 43 deals in 2024, amid slowing sales and cautious investor sentiment, a second consecutive year of decline after peaking at $1B in 2022. Venture debt is playing a key role in supporting EV production, charging infra, and battery tech. Read more. [Paywall]
Quick commerce is redefining logistics with ultra-fast deliveries across sectors like food, fashion, and electronics, driving a surge in new startups. While Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart led the space with $1B in revenue in FY24, smaller players are innovating with niche, rapid delivery models. Read more.
Indian beauty and personal care (BPC) startups have raised $1B+ since 2014, while FMCG giants like HUL, ITC, and Marico are expanding through M&A. The $5B D2C BPC market is set to reach $28B in five years, driving consolidation and strategic exits. With strong investor interest and rapid scaling, BPC is the fastest-growing ecommerce segment in India. Read more. [Paywall]
India’s Budget introduced a $260M Export Promotion Mission to boost credit access and tackle trade barriers. The BharatTradeNet platform aims to digitize trade processes, while custom duty reforms and incentives for MSMEs (which contribute 45% of exports) enhance competitiveness. With $2.3B allocated for R&D in AI, semiconductors, and geospatial tech, India is strengthening its position in global value chains, targeting $1T in merchandise exports. Read more.
KPIs
India's banking sector requires $4 trillion in capital over the next 20 years to achieve its developed economy goal by 2047, according to HSBC Mutual Fund. To sustain this growth, financial assets must expand 19x and banking assets 14.5x, driving significant economic expansion.
The government introduced the Income Tax Bill 2025, set to take effect from FY 2026-27, aiming to simplify the Income Tax Act. The Bill significantly reduces complexity. The government assures no additional expenditure beyond current tax administration costs.
WEEKLY MARKET UPDATE (w/c February 10, 2025)
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