Public market exits by PE/VC firms see sharp uptick in 2023

Till November, these firms booked 20.73 bn in total exits, against 18.29 bn in entire 2022

- Ranjani Raghavan

Nearly half the exits for private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) firms came from open-market block deals in 2023, a year that was defined by robust appetite displayed by public market investors for large-ticket block deals. PE/VC firms also bumped up their investments in listed companies compared with preceding years, according to data provided by consulting firm EY.

Exit numbers, in general, have trended higher for PE/VC firms. The year 2021 saw a significant jump, with massive amount of private money flowing into the Indian ecosystem, allowing record exits for early investors.

But, the nature of the exits in the last two years has changed.

Till November 2023, PE/VC firms had booked $20.73 billion in total exits, higher than $18.29 billion for the entire year 2022, though lower than $40.37 billion worth of exits in 2021, according to EY. Of this, 45% of exits in 2023 have been through block deals; the proportion of open market transactions was lower at 36.2% in 2022, and 15.1% in 2021.