Venture capital firms made 52 investments worth $200 million in the third quarter of the calendar year. While the volume of investments in the first nine months kept pace with 2011, the value was down by 22 per cent when compared to the same period last year, says a study.

VC firms invested $200 million in over 52 deals in India during the three months ending September 2012, according to a study by the Chennai-based Venture Intelligence, a research service focused on private equity, venture capital and merger and acquisition activity in India. The amount invested during the third quarter was significantly lower compared to the same quarter in 2011, which had witnessed $256 million being invested across 51 deals, and flat when compared to the immediate previous quarter ($204 million across 56 deals).

The latest figures take the total VC investments in the first nine months of 2012 to $596 million across 157 deals, down over 22 per cent compared to the $768 million across 153 deals during the same period in 2011, says the study.

Top growth investments during the quarter included the $20-million third round raised by e-tailer Yebhi.com from Fidelity Growth Partners India and Qualcomm Ventures, with participation from existing investors; the $14.5-million fourth round raised by urban microfinance firm Janalakshmi Financial Services and the $5-million third round raised by remote IT infra management firm Appnomic Systems.

Among early stage deals, Fidelity Growth Partners India invested $20 million in US and India-based analytics BPO firm AbsolutData Research and retail loyalty management software firm Capillary Technologies raised $15.5 million from Sequoia Capital, Norwest and existing backer Qualcomm Ventures, the study said.

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