Private equity investments in the first nine months of this year have reached $8.4 billion against $7.8 billion in the corresponding period a year ago, says a Grant Thornton report.

According to the assurance, tax and advisory firm, there has been a clear upswing in PE deal activity in the nine-month period ended September 2014, both in terms of value as well as volume, indicating a revival in investment climate.

PE investment so far in 2014 stood higher at $8.4 billion against $7.8 billion in 2013, with 38 per cent higher volumes in 2014 compared with 2013, led by the technology sector.

“We expect valuations to go up given the renewed business sentiments which in our view, would be both a challenge and an opportunity for dealmakers to close deals in the coming quarters,” Grant Thornton India Partner Raja Lahiri said.

“We believe that this momentum of deal activity will continue to increase and we look forward to closing the year on a high note,” Lahiri added.

In the third quarter of this year, there were several big ticket deals. There were as many as 15 investments over $50 million each, including two over $100 million and $one billion investment, the report said.

In the third quarter of 2013, there were only nine investments worth over $50 million each.

The report noted that there was significant uptrend in the M&A and PE deal activity with $36 billion worth of deals in the nine-month period ended September 2014, the best since 2012.

“While the year began on a rather cautionary note, the deal pace started picking up in the months closer to the elections and the momentum kept increasing thereafter, signalling positive vibes for the months and quarters to come,” Lahiri added.

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