In the third quarter of calendar year 2011, that is between July and September, the energy sector has attracted maximum investments from the private equity players.

Of the $2.25 billion worth PE placements across 98 deals in Indian companies during the quarter, about $823 million, or 37%, was in 16 energy-sector companies, according to data by Chennai-based research firm Venture Intelligence.

Among some of the largest investments in the quarter are The Blackstone Group-owned Sithe Global Power’s around Rs1,280 ($261 million) investment in SKS Chhattisgarh Power Generation, Blackstone’s direct Rs500 crore ($111 million) investment in Visa Power and Goldman Sachs’ Rs1,000 crore ($204 million) commitment to ReNew Wind Power.

Industry experts said that increased traction in the energy space is also because most companies are adopting the cluster approach to fundraising (seeking investments in multiple assets) as compared to a single asset approach earlier.

Vikram Uttam Singh, head-private equity, KPMG, said, “We saw deals of close to $5 billion in the energy space last year and what is happening now is an extension of it. One of the reasons for this is that until recently very few deals of this size were available in the market. Power industry is very capital intensive and hence the deal sizes tend to be huge.”

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