Block, bulk deals hit 14-month high in August at Rs 80,000 crore

Mumbai: August witnessed a deluge of large secondary market deals, with the tally rising to the highest in 14 months, as promoters and private equity investors sold stakes amid elevated valuations following the sharp rebound in mid- and small-cap shares.

Block and bulk trades worth at least ₹80,000 crore were executed during the month - the highest since June 2025. Domestic mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and a clutch of foreign institutions lapped up the increased supply of shares in the market.

In July, these transactions were worth around ₹48,500 crore.


Among the large trades in August, Centella Mauritius Holdings sold a 6.67% stake in Aster DM Quality Care for ₹4,451 crore, while Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma-controlled Resilient Asset Management offloaded a 3% stake in One 97 Communications for ₹2,949 crore.

Capital Ammunition

SoftBank Vision Fund II Lightbulb (Cayman) sold nearly 2.6% in Lenskart Solutions for ₹2,888 crore, while American Funds Insurance Series Global Growth and Income Fund sold a 1.04% stake in Avenue Supermarts for ₹2,537 crore.

General Atlantic Singapore RR Pte offloaded shares worth ₹2,300 crore in Rubicon Research, while Ribbit Capital V and Ribbit Cayman GW Holdings V sold shares worth a combined ₹2,217 crore in Billionbrains Garage Ventures. SAIF III Mauritius Company, SAIF Partners India IV and Elevation Capital V sold Paytm shares worth ₹2,038 crore, while Elevation Capital V and Peak XV Partners Investments V sold shares worth ₹1,949 crore in Meesho.

Other large transactions included stake sales worth ₹1,433 crore in Welspun Corp and ₹1,259 crore in Viyash Scientific. Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II also exited its entire 1.61% stake in Physicswallah for about ₹550 crore.

"Strong SIP flows into small-cap and mid-cap equity mutual funds are giving fund houses sizeable pools of capital to deploy through block deals, creating attractive exit opportunities for promoters and PE investors while allowing funds to selectively accumulate stocks they favour," said Abhilash Pagaria, head of Nuvama Alternative & Quant Research.

Late Surge

The surge in these deals gathered pace in the second half of August. Between May and August, block and bulk deals worth ₹2.51 lakh crore were recorded, more than double the ₹1.25 lakh crore between January and April.

So far in 2026, 9,754 deals worth ₹3.77 lakh crore have been recorded, compared with 14,926 deals worth ₹5.85 lakh crore in the whole of 2025. Block and bulk deal activity typically picks up when valuations are elevated, and liquidity is strong, allowing promoters, private equity investors and other large shareholders to cash out without significantly disrupting stock prices.