Private equity and venture capital transaction value in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan increased 24.8% in 2024 compared to full year 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Deal value to Nov. 30 reached $36.14 billion, indicating signs of recovery after hitting a four-year low in 2023.

However, volume dropped to 183 deals in 2024, the lowest in five years.

The drop in deal volume is linked to valuations, according to Angela Lai, vice president and head of APAC and valuations for research insights at Preqin. General Partners have been cautious and selective on target companies to ensure satisfactory prices.

"[T]he entry point makes a lot of difference in terms of final outcome financially," she said.

Outsized deal drives transaction value

One megadeal drove value in the third quarter. An investor group including funds managed by Blackstone RE Partners, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners LP, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Advisors LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board agreed to acquire datacenter platform AirTrunk Operating Pty Ltd. from Macquarie Asset Management Pty Ltd. and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board for $16.13 billion.

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In 2024, overall M&A in the region fell to $334.39 billion, down 15% from 2023. Private equity represented 10.8% of total M&A transaction value in 2024.

Largest PE deals

The acquisition of AirTrunk, the largest datacenter in Asia-Pacific according to Blackstone, ranked as the largest deal of the year.

Second was South Korea's IMM Private Equity Inc. and IMM Investment Corp.'s $2.84 billion deal to acquire landfill company Ecorbit Co. Ltd. from TY Holdings Co. Ltd. and others.

In 2024, the industrial sector emerged as the leader, accounting for five of the top 10 deals.

Funding rounds decrease

Venture capital-backed funding rounds decreased in both deal value and volume in the region. Aggregate transaction value in 2024 reached $52.82 billion, down 41.9% from $90.87 billion in 2023, according to Market Intelligence data. The number of transactions also fell to 4,390 from 4,961 in 2023.

A bright spot has been India, where IPO activity surged in volume and value this year. India's IPO market has matured significantly over the past one to two years and is contributing to the growth in larger deals while offering abundant early-stage investment opportunities, Lai said.

However, a rebound in private equity activity across the region hinges on improvement of value and volume in China, Lai said.

"Liquidity in the [China] market is a bit low because the [investor] sentiment is quite low."

Largest funding rounds

In the largest funding round, electric vehicle manufacturer and developer NIO Inc. entered into an agreement to raise $1.90 billion in an equity funding round from new investors CS Capital Co. Ltd. and Hefei Jianheng New Energy Automotive Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise, among others.

The $1.5 billion round led by Sequoia Capital Operations LLC for Indian real estate investment company Walton Street India Real Estate Advisors Pvt. Ltd. was the second largest.