Private equity firms have invested over $3 billion in the first quarter of this year, with telecom and energy sector accounting for a major part of the fund inflow, a study by research firm Venture Intelligence shows.

Private equity firms have invested $3.3 billion till March 2008, against $2.7 billion in the same period last year, according to the study.

“The energy sector has attracted an investment of $709 million, while telecom sector has received $624 million from the chunk,” Venture Intelligence Founder and CEO Arun Natarajan told PTI.

However, in terms of number, the IT-ITES sector accounted for 26 PE deals, maximum for any sector, of the total 97 during the quarter. A year ago, the total number of deals was 101. In terms of amount, the IT-ITES sector ranks third as it attracted about $395 million through the route.

Further, the telecom sector attracted interest of Morgan Stanley, which invested significant capital into Bharti Infratel and TowerVision. Cairn India and Ballarpur Paper Holdings also raised over $100 million during the period.