After nearly two years of limited exit opportunities during the funding winter, venture capital (VC) firms reaped a record $4.06 billion from public market share sales this year till November. Data from Venture Intelligence shows that VCs’ earnings this year are double of $2.06 billion last year and represent a 180% increase from $1.5 billion in 2022.
The total even surpasses the funding boom of 2021, when VCs reaped $3.3 billion via public market share sales. These sales, involving the divestment of equity stakes in listed firms, underscore how a bullish IPO market has reinvigorated investor exit strategies.
The standout among VC-backed IPOs was Swiggy’s $1.4 billion offering in November, which netted $750 million in exits for its investors, including Elevation Capital, DST Global, Alpha Wave Global, and Baron Capital. Other key exits include babycare retailer FirstCry, which generated $227 million for investors such as TPG Capital.
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In addition to IPOs, VC investors have capitalised on bulk and block deals. Ant Financial, a subsidiary of China’s Alibaba Group, sold over $900 million worth of Zomato shares in two bulk deals this year, cutting its stake in the firm from 6.4% in 2022 to just 2.2%. Singapore-based Temasek exited its 5.42% stake in PB Fintech, PolicyBazaar’s parent firm, for $291 million early this year.
VCs have executed 44 public market deals so far this year, up from 32 in 2022 and just 13 in 2021. The boom is not limited to VC. Private equity (PE) funds also made significant gains, earning $13.3 billion from public market share sales this year — matching their 2022 total. The largest PE exit of the year came from Blackstone, which sold 15.1% stake in IT services company Mphasis for $808 million in June. The resurgence in public market activity comes as a relief to investors, who faced a challenging exit environment during the funding slowdown.
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