Private equity and venture capital investments dropped to $4.7 billion in April this year on heightened uncertainty and high valuation expectations of sellers, a report said on Monday.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

The overall amount invested is 6 per cent lower than the $4.9 billion recorded in April 2024, and 20 per cent lower than the $5.9 billion in March 2025, the report by industry body IVCA and consultancy firm EY, said.

Even by the number of transactions, the number of deals at 108 in April 2025 declined by 4 per cent on-year from the 113 in the year-ago period, but were at par with the preceding month of March, it said.

“Elevated uncertainty coupled with high valuation expectations of sellers is continuing to impact PE/VC deal-making,” the consultancy firm’s partner Vivek Soni said.

Soni said favourable government policy, corporate earnings performance and a drop in global uncertainty can help narrow this bid-ask spread and accelerate PE/VC investment and exit activity in the future, and added that he is “cautiously optimistic”.

Start-up investments accounted for the largest share of PE/VC activity in April 2025, with $1.8 billion deployed, which is an 80 per cent increase on-year, it said, adding that credit investments came second at $1.1 billion, which was up 20 per cent.

From a sector perspective, infrastructure led the way in April 2025 with $2.4 billion across 10 deals, followed by financial services at $1.1 billion, adding this two sectors accounted for three-fourths of the overall bets.

April 2025 recorded 12 exits worth $489 million, down from $1 billion across 24 exits in April 2024 and $1.6 billion across 15 exits in March 2025, it said.

PE and VC funds raised $1.1 billion in new funds in April compared to $2.8 billion in April 2024 and $894 million in March 2025, it said.