“The secondaries landscape has flourished over the past few years, with volumes continually peaking. Secondary transactions will be a catalyst this decade for PE-VC activity in India by facilitating liquidity, attracting new investors, optimising portfolios, enabling exits, and expanding the deal pipeline. Ultimately, the rise of GP-led secondaries will inject diversity into the alternative assets market and enable the fund management ecosystem to reach greater heights,” said Rajat Tandon, President, IVCA, in a statement.
Gregory Barclay, Partner and Chair, Singapore Office, Goodwin, said, “Based on converging market factors we expect the volume of GP-led fund transactions in Asia generally and India specifically to significantly increase over the coming year toward 2025 and beyond. The complex nature of these deals and the associated commercial, legal, regulatory and tax issues makes it an exciting area for us to advise. In addition to our team’s past experience executing some of the largest Indian secondary transactions, we have deep experience in secondary transactions globally which helps us advise counterparties with structuring and implementing strategies to maximize economics in deals in this region and, in particular, to use new and innovative technology from around the globe to achieve optimal terms.”
Divaspati Singh, Partner, Khaitan & Co, said, “The Indian alternatives industry has had various inflection points, the first was liberalisation, followed by the early boom in 2000s and lastly the introduction of AIF Regulations in 2012. We feel that the growth of the secondaries market would be the next inflection point, imminent for the continued growth of the industry. Whether it is GP led secondaries or LP led, liquidity is the key driving consideration behind secondaries, wherein secondary transactions can act as the bridge between LPs and funds wanting liquidity for their assets and incoming investors looking for access to identified assets. With SEBI closing the window for funds to extend their life beyond the originally stipulated term, secondaries could be the real saviour for such funds.”
Industry experts Vivek Mimani, Partner, Khaitan & Co, and Divaspati Singh, Partner, Khaitan & Co, shared insightful observations on the evolution, considerations, and challenges of GP-led secondaries in India. Manish Ranjan, Counsel, Goodwin, and Krishna Skandkumar, Private Funds & Secondaries Partner, Goodwin explored international trends in secondaries and their relevance for India.
