New Delhi, July 16 : The Indian pharma and healthcare sector witnessed significant activity in the April-June quarter (Q2) this year with 55 deals totalling $4.1 billion, marking an 8 times increase in values and a 10 per cent rise in volumes over the previous quarter, a report showed on Tuesday.

The average deal size surged from $9.7 million in Q1 2024 to $74 million this quarter, driven by 11 high-value deals worth $3.4 billion, compared to just one high-value deal worth $150 million in Q1 2024, according to the report by Grant Thornton Bharat.

'As India strives towards 'Viksit Bharat,' we anticipate a substantial rise in the health budget to approximately 3 per cent of GDP in the upcoming Union Budget 2024,' said Bhanu Prakash Kalmath SJ, Partner and Healthcare Services Industry Leader.

Compared to Q2 2023, deal values increased by 57 per cent despite a notable $2 billion deal in the previous year executed by Temasek Holdings to acquire a 41 per cent stake in Manipal Health Enterprises.

Volumes witnessed a similar trend with 49 per cent growth, reaching 55 deals this quarter, up from 37 deals in Q2 2023, according to the report.

Domestic consolidations led in deal volumes, while outbound deals dominated in values, contributing 74 per cent to the M&A space.

Private equity (PE) activity in Q2 2024 saw 37 deals valued at $2.7 billion, a 3 per cent increase from Q1 2024.

The largest PE deal was KKR Asian Fund IV's investment in Healthium MedTech, valued at $843 million, accounting for 31 per cent of the quarter's PE values.

Indegene Limited led the IPO activity with a fund-raise of $222 million in Q2.

/IANS