Companies in India inked at least 360 private equity deals totaling USD8.9 billion in the first ten months of the year. The number of private equity deals increased by 33%, while its total value increased by 14% compared to last year's figure.

The Economic Times, citing a report by Grant Thornton, said that Indian companies closed 345 transactions worth USD6.7 billion in the January-October period of 2012. Grant Thornton is a global accounting and advisory firm based in Chicago, US. 

According to the report, Red Fort Capital's USD161 million investment in Lotus Green Developers and four others accounted for 63% of the total private equity deal values. 

The other major deals included Morgan Stanley Investment Management's USD160 million funding granted to Flipkart and KKR & Co.'s INR550 crore investment in Prathap C Reddy Investments (PCR), which is Apollo Hospitals Group's holding company, Economic Times said. 

Other deals that make up the top five deals in October also included Warburg Pincus' acquisition of a 30% stake in Biba Apparels for USD56.45 million and Actis' USD48 million investment in Symbiotec, the report said.