India’s private equity and venture capital market staged a strong comeback in 2024, with investments rising 9 per cent year-over-year to reach $43 billion after two consecutive years of decline. The recovery was primarily driven by an increase in large buyout deals, according to India Private Equity Report 2025 report by Bain & Company.
Venture capital investments jumped 54 per cent from 2023 levels to $10.4 billion, with early-stage funding increasing 44 per cent and growth-stage investments doubling with a 106 per cent rise. The total number of VC deals increased from 880 to 1,270, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the Indian market.
Consumer tech emerged as a major beneficiary of this renewed interest, attracting nearly $6 billion in investments through scale transactions in companies like Zepto, Meesho, and Rapido.
Buyouts reached a record $13.4 billion, representing over 50 per cent of total PE value, a significant shift from 37 per cent in 2022. This marks the continuation of a trend that saw buyouts account for 46 per cent of total PE value in 2023.
“The share of buyouts has consistently been increasing over the years. This reflects a growing investor confidence in the Indian market. There are quality assets available in the market across sectors and investors are looking to acquire controlling stakes that enables larger deployments as well as ability to drive value creation with the company,” said Aditya Shukla, Partner at Bain & Company.
In terms of exits, India outperformed all other markets in the Asia-Pacific region with values reaching approximately $33 billion, up 16 per cent year-over-year. Public market exits comprised 59 per cent of total exit value, buoyed by strong IPO and block trade activity.
“India recorded $33 billion in PE-VC exits in 2024, growing 16 per cent year over year and leading all markets in the Asia-Pacific region. This performance was primarily enabled by robust public market conditions, with exits through IPOs and block trades rising to 59 per cent of total exit value,” said Shukla.
IPO exit value alone surged more than twofold to reach $4 billion, with large transactions such as Trent, PNB Housing, and Vishal Mega Mart highlighting investor ability to capitalize on strong market valuations.
Real estate and infrastructure emerged as the largest investment sector, representing approximately 16 per cent of total PE-VC investment. The sector saw a 70 per cent increase in investment, driven by marquee deals like the $2.2 billion American Tower Corporation transaction and active dealmaking in road infrastructure projects.
“We expect Real Estate to continue seeing traction in 2025 driven by easing interest rate environment, recovering consumption, and rising demand across warehousing and commercial real estate segments,” Shukla noted.
Financial services investments grew approximately 25 per cent, driven by a resurgence in deals involving non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Healthcare deal volumes rose nearly 80 per cent, supported by large medtech transactions, increased investments in pharma contract development and manufacturing organizations, and continued growth in single-specialty and regional provider chains.
The IT and IT-enabled services sector saw investment grow by nearly four times in 2024, propelled by large deals in digital IT and revenue cycle management, including transactions like Perficient at $3 billion and Altimetrik at $900 million.
Looking ahead to 2025, sectors expected to lead include financial services, healthcare, real estate, and consumer/retail. This outlook is supported by improving consumption trends, easing inflation, anticipated rate cuts, and government incentives.
Published on May 6, 2025
