No large deals in August; PE, VC fund investments decline 54%

PE/VC investments in August 2020 were 54% lower compared to August 2019 and 53% lower compared to July 2020. The decline was due to fewer large deals across deal segments.

Except for Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) investments that recorded a 5.4 times y-o-y increase, all other deal types declined significantly. Buyout deals recorded $570 million across two deals with a 49% y-o-y decline. Growth investments declined 79% while Start-ups deals fell 87%.

August 2020 recorded six large deals (value greater than US$100 million) worth $1.3 billion compared to 15 large deals worth $3.5 billion in August 2019 and 10 large deals worth $3.1 billion in July 2020.

Financial services emerged as the top sector after a gap of three months, recording $1.1 billion in investments across 17 deals, accounting for 55% of all investments during the month. This was followed by investments in infrastructure with $270 million, education with $193 million and e-commerce $135 million.  

The month recorded 15 exits worth $67 million, the lowest monthly value of exits in over three and a half years. Exits in August 2020 were 90% lower than the value of exits in August 2019 and 50% lower than the value recorded in July.

Recorded total fundraises of $480 million compared to $1.1 billion raised last year, a 58% y-o-y decline. The largest fundraise in August saw Lightspeed raise its third fund of $275 million for early stage investments.