19 Feb 2026
PE and VC funds are changing their exit strategy: IPOs fall back as block deals race ahead
10 Feb 2026
10 Feb 2026
This is a link-enhanced version of an article that first appeared in Livemint
Article Overview:
This article notes how, while IPOs are traditionally regarded as the primary liquidity event, data over the past five years indicates that investors have realised significantly greater exit value through post-listing bulk and block deals than through the offer-for-sale (OFS) portion of IPOs.
Our Partner, Abhishek Guha, Corporate, shared his perspective. Here’s what he had to say:
Regarding block deals, Abhishek said, “Following a year of aggressive sell-downs, funds are recalibrating the pace of exits. We expect to see many exits through block sales in 2026,” Guha added. Pricing control, combined with discretion and speed, has made block deals structurally more attractive for large financial investors. There is far greater flexibility in pricing since block deals are private and negotiated.”
When it comes to OFS, there are limits on how much stake can be sold during an IPO. In fact, PEs and VCs accounted for 64% of overall IPO exits in 2021, to which Abhishek said, “Most PEs today hold controlling stakes, which makes a full exit at IPO structurally impossible.”
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