The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) yesterday hosted the IVCA Secondaries Conference 2025 in Mumbai, bringing together leading investors, fund managers, global experts, and policymakers to deliberate on the growing role of secondaries as a mainstream liquidity tool in India’s private markets.

Partnered by Blume Ventures, Foundation Private Equity, Madison India Capital, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, PwC, TPG NewQuest, and YourNest Venture Capital, the conference convened limited partners (LPs), general partners (GPs), family offices, and regulatory voices to discuss the future of India’s secondaries landscape.

Delivering the opening remarks, Ritesh Banglani, Partner, Stellaris Venture Partners, said: “The global secondary market reached $156Bn in 2024, with GP-led transactions accounting for nearly half that value, clear evidence that secondaries are no longer a niche, but a mainstream exit route. In India too, secondary transactions are expected to touch $20 billion annually, with pre-IPO deals already enabling both liquidity for early investors and entry for new ones. More importantly, secondaries have evolved beyond being just a liquidity tool. They are now a powerful portfolio management mechanism that allow GPs to balance risks, generate early distributions, and continue backing high-conviction companies over longer horizons. For LPs, they create alignment and flexibility across vintages and asset classes. Together, these shifts are reshaping India’s private markets and setting the stage for a deeper, more resilient secondary ecosystem.”

The first panel focused on LP-led secondaries, discussing the motivations, structures, and outlook for such transactions in India and how LPs can tap into the market for liquidity. The second panel addressed direct and GP-led secondaries, highlighting how these transactions are gaining prominence by providing flexibility and alignment where traditional exit routes may take longer.

GP-led transactions reached $70 billion globally in 2024, a 31% year-on-year increase, underscoring their growing role as a global liquidity route. The third panel examined continuation funds, with speakers highlighting their growing adoption in India.

Speaking on the panel, Ashish Fafadia, Partner, Blume Ventures, said: “The reality is that traditional exit timelines are often mismatched with the growth journey of Indian startups. GP-led secondaries create a bridge, they allow GPs to extend support to their most promising companies while simultaneously providing liquidity to LPs. More importantly, they are no longer seen just as a liquidity event but as a strategic tool for capital reallocation. This dual benefit is why we are seeing them become integral to India’s maturing private market landscape.”

A subsequent discussion focused on continuation funds, which now account for more than 85% of GP-led activity worldwide. Panelists highlighted their growing adoption in India, particularly in sectors such as technology and healthcare, where assets require longer horizons to realise their potential. They also addressed structuring considerations, regulatory aspects, and the balance between single-asset and multi-asset vehicles.

Sunil Goyal, Managing Director and Fund Manager, YourNest Venture Capital, noted: “Continuation funds give GPs the ability to stay invested in their best-performing assets even when the fund life ends, while providing liquidity to LPs. For founders, they create comfort because they can continue with the same GP who understands their journey, instead of bringing in a new shareholder. Globally, the secondary market is about $160 billion with 40–50% of that in continuation vehicles, while India’s share is still less than 2% and has only started to grow in the last few years. As this ecosystem develops, continuation vehicles will not only extend the lifecycle of great assets, they will also test the entrepreneurial spirit of GPs just as much as they test the founders they back.”

Mamtesh Sugla, Managing Director, TPG NewQuest, added: “Continuation vehicles let GPs remain invested in their highest-conviction assets while providing timely liquidity to LPs. In mature markets, roughly half of GP-led deals are single-asset and they tend to achieve stronger pricing outcomes, with about 90% pricing at 90% or above of net asset value and around 50% at or above par. Asia is earlier in the cycle with completions of roughly $3-4 billion in 2024 and completion rates in single digits, and India today is likely under a $1 billion p.a. market, which means significant headroom. As processes and regulatory clarity improve, and with pragmatic rollover options for LPs, continuation funds will become a core part of India’s secondary toolkit.”

Closing the proceedings, Rajat Tandon, President, IVCA, said: "Exits worth $127 billion over the past 4.5 years—including $11.6 billion in just the first half of 2025—reflect the scale and maturity of India’s private capital markets. Within this, secondaries have swiftly moved from niche to mainstream, contributing nearly a quarter of exit value in 2024. What makes them transformative is their evolution beyond liquidity—they now provide continuity for GPs, flexibility for LPs, and confidence for global investors. At IVCA, we are committed to deepening this ecosystem through dialogue, policy advocacy, and research, ensuring secondaries remain central to building resilient markets for the future."

Also Read:  IVPA Welcomes PM's Announcement on GST Reforms

The secondary market witnessed an increase of 35% in 2024 viz-a-viz 2023 and 14% higher than the previous record in 2021—driven by stronger macroeconomic sentiment, wider adoption of GP-led structures, and growing participation from a diverse pool of buyers.

Knowledge sessions throughout the day also examined regulatory and tax considerations, with speakers underlining the importance of evolving SEBI guidance, governance benchmarks, and policy clarity to accelerate adoption of secondaries in India. The conference also drew on global perspectives.