Indian Equities Saw Robust Activity With $30 Billion in Block Deals in 2024

In 2024, both domestic and foreign equity holders have collectively sold shares worth over $30 billion through block deals. This indicates that investor appetite for Indian equities remains robust despite foreign outflows and slowing earnings growth.

Major Block Deals in 2024

• British American Tobacco (BAT) offloaded part of its stake in ITC for approximately $2 billion in March 2024.
• Blackstone sold a 15% stake in Mphasis for around $810 million, making it the third-largest deal of the year, following BAT’s sale and Hoechst GmbH’s offloading of a 60.4% stake in Sanofi Consumer Healthcare for ₹6,927 crore in October 2024.

Vodafone’s Exit from Indus Towers

On Wednesday, Vodafone Group Plc announced its intention to exit its holdings in Indus Towers, planning to offload the remaining 7.92 crore shares, representing 3% of the total equity. The proceeds from the sale will be used primarily to repay Vodafone’s outstanding borrowings of $101 million, secured against Vodafone’s Indian assets. This final tranche of selling follows a previous transaction in June 2024, when Vodafone subsidiaries raised approximately $1.8 billion by selling shares in Indus Towers.

Other Significant Block Deals

Additional notable deals in 2024 include:

• Singtel (Singapore) sold a 0.8% stake in Bharti Airtel.
• Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC offloaded IRB Infrastructure Trust shares worth ₹5,884 crore.
• Adani Group promoters divested nearly 2.8% of their stake in Ambuja Cements for ₹4,250 crore.
• Finsider International Company, part of Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources, sold ₹6,000 crore worth of Vedanta shares in two block deals.
• Whirlpool Mauritius Ltd, a promoter entity of Whirlpool of India, sold 24% of its stake in the company through a block deal worth $451 million.

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. It is based on several secondary sources on the internet and is subject to changes. Please consult an expert before making related decisions.