The world’s top two PE firms are scouting for secondary portfolio deals in India | Company Business News

Global private equity (PE) giants Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc., which have bought stakes from existing investors in other countries, are exploring such transactions in India as well, three people close to the development told Mint.

Should such a deal materialize, it would be the first instance of the world’s two largest investment firms participating in India’s secondary portfolio transactions market. Blackstone had more than $1.17 trillion in assets under management, while KKR had $664 billion as of March 2025.

“While Blackstone does not have a team dedicated to it in India yet, the firm has begun evaluating such deals, especially multi-asset secondaries, in India,” said the first of the three persons cited earlier, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“With Indian markets maturing, there are newer products that they will try out. Apart from infrastructure and credit, there will be newer ways to deploy capital in the country,” the person added.

A second person added that KKR is evaluating strategies to sew up such deals in India.

Both firms are understood to be exploring opportunities, especially in companies where there is visibility on their public listing timelines.

Blackstone did not respond to Mint’s queries. KKR declined to comment.

Investor-to-investor deals 

The move comes as activity is picking up in India’s secondary market, where investors trade shares among themselves. Early investors often exit during larger late-stage funding or ahead of initial public offerings (IPOs) when PE firms are more inclined to invest. These rounds typically involve a mix of new stock and the sale of existing shares.

However, such funding remains limited as investors and founders often disagree on valuations in the private market. Exits through IPOs also remain uncertain amid global volatility.

“The most active players in secondaries have been global funds like TPG NewQuest and TR Capital. Given the size of the secondaries opportunity in India, domestic funds are now entering the segment, and so are other foreign investors who see potential for significant growth in the asset class in India,” said Shapath Parikh, co-founder of White Whale Ventures, another firm focused on such transactions in India.

Parikh added that India has seen about $150 billion invested over the past 10 years in venture capital and private equity. “A lot of early-stage investments from the last decade or 15 years are now ripe for exits. Investors are also driven by fund lifecycle compulsions, which is adding to the momentum.”

Last year, Chiratae Ventures sold stakes in companies like Lenskart, Bizongo, and Rentomojo to Madison India Capital in a $70 million transaction. Earlier this month, TR Capital acquired Eight Roads Ventures’ holdings in MoEngage, Whatfix, and Shadowfax for $50 million.

Mint reported on 7 July that several global and domestic funds that had acquired stakes in startups from early investors were looking for exits as they neared the end of their fund lifecycles, especially those that raised capital in the 2013-14 period.

And that opens up the market for the specialist investors such as Blackstone and KKR.

Various pools

Blackstone has various pools of capital worldwide, including special situations and secondary funds. The PE giant has deployed $67 billion from its Strategic Partners fund in secondary, co-investments, and primary advisory.

KKR, however, remains one of the biggest funds in PE without a dedicated secondaries unit.

Since January 2024, Accel-KKR, a technology-focused PE firm which initially began as a partnership between the two firms but now operates independently, has increasingly been involved in the portfolio secondary market. KKR’s secondary transactions in India, such as its $95 million investment in Lenskart in 2021 and $50–75 million purchase of Rebel Foods shares from existing investors, are single-asset deals focused on acquiring stakes in individual companies, unlike secondary portfolio transactions that involve buying bundled interests across multiple companies or funds.

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