Delhivery CPPIB exit: ₹1,818 crore block deals in 2024

What happened and why it matters

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) completed the sale of its remaining shares in Delhivery during the quarter, ending a multi-year holding in the logistics company. The final leg of the exit was executed through multiple block deals in July, following an earlier sell-down in April. The transactions mattered for the market because CPPIB had been a prominent pre-IPO investor and was still a meaningful shareholder after Delhivery listed in May 2022. Alongside Delhivery, CPPIB also trimmed its holding in FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) in July.

The disclosures and media reports around these trades also came with near-term market context, including the pricing discounts in block deals and Delhivery’s stock movement around the transactions. Investors tracked these deals closely because block sales can temporarily affect liquidity and price, even when the underlying company operations remain unchanged.

July block deals: CPPIB sells the final 3.18%

CPPIB offloaded its remaining 3.18% stake in Delhivery, equal to 2.34 crore shares, through multiple block deals in July. The sale generated approximately ₹910.2 crore, according to the details provided. Exchange data cited in the provided information indicated the shares changed hands at an average price of ₹388.45 per share.

The block sale was reported to be priced at about a 1% discount to Delhivery’s closing price of ₹392.35 on the BSE on the prior day. A term-sheet based report also described an offered price band of ₹378 to ₹389 per share, representing a discount of about 0.85% to the previous close. Following the block deals, Delhivery shares ended the day at ₹387.75 on the BSE, down 1.2%.

April sell-down: the first large cut from 5.96%

Before the July exit, CPPIB had already reduced its Delhivery holding in April. The data provided states CPPIB sold 2.04 crore shares in April for ₹908 crore. That April transaction was also described as a 2.77% or 2.8% stake sale, with one version noting 20.45 million shares sold at an average price of ₹444.30 per share.

After that April deal, CPPIB’s holding was described as falling to 3.18% from 5.96% as of the March 2024 quarter end. A separate line in the provided text mentions an April divestment valued at about $110 million, reducing ownership to 5.96%, but the other details in the same set of information consistently reference 5.96% as the March-quarter stake and 3.18% as the post-April residual that was later sold in July.

CPPIB’s Delhivery holding since the IPO

CPPIB was a major investor in Delhivery before the IPO in May 2022. The provided information says that ahead of the IPO, CPPIB held about 4.38 crore shares, described as a 13.45% stake. It also states that with the IPO, CPPIB’s stake came down to a little over 6% while it continued to hold 4.38 crore shares.

By the end of the March quarter of 2024, CPPIB held the same number of shares, with a 5.96% stake, as per the BSE data cited. The April and July block deals together completed the sell-down that followed.

Nykaa stake sale: 0.52% sold for ₹256 crore

In July, CPPIB also pared its holding in FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa). The fund sold a 0.52% stake in Nykaa for ₹256 crore, as stated in the provided text. The information shared does not include the number of shares involved in the Nykaa transaction or the sale price per share.

Who bought the Delhivery shares

Multiple institutional investors were named among the buyers in the July block deal. The list in the provided text includes Fidelity Funds, HSBC, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. Another mention also listed Blackstone among the buyers.

A separate report stated that BofA Securities India Ltd. acted as the sole manager of the deal, based on the term sheet referenced. The trade was also described as expected to be settled on a Thursday, according to the same note.

Mutual funds’ position in Delhivery (September 2024)

By the end of September 2024, mutual funds were described as holding a significant stake in Delhivery. The provided text says 22 mutual funds collectively held a 24.91% stake, equivalent to 18.43 crore shares. This snapshot helps contextualise how domestic institutions feature in the shareholder base alongside global investors.

Stock price moves and key levels mentioned

The provided information includes multiple price points from market updates around the block deal day. Delhivery’s stock was cited as rising up to 3.02% to ₹403.65 per share, and later trading 0.74% higher at ₹394.7 per share, while the Nifty index was down 0.12%. Another update stated the stock was flat at ₹389.20 after giving up morning gains.

On a broader basis, Delhivery’s stock was described as down 2% over the past one year. The 52-week high and low were cited as ₹488.00 and ₹354.20 per share, respectively. The stock was also described as being down 16.22% from the issue price, with the stock level referenced at ₹408 in that context.

Key numbers at a glance

What the sequence suggests for the market

The disclosed trades indicate CPPIB used public-market block deals to complete a full exit from Delhivery. The reported discount to the previous close and the intraday volatility show how price discovery plays out when large stakes are offered in a short window. At the same time, the buyer list suggests demand from a mix of mutual funds and other large institutions.

The information also highlights how Delhivery remains under its issue price, even as the stock moved up intraday around the exit news and deal flow. Separately, the September 2024 mutual-fund holding data points to the scale of domestic institutional participation in the stock.

Conclusion

CPPIB’s April and July transactions together mark the completion of its Delhivery exit, with the July block deals selling the remaining 3.18% stake for about ₹910.2 crore. The same month also saw CPPIB sell 0.52% in Nykaa for ₹256 crore. Market attention is likely to remain on post-deal shareholding updates and institutional ownership disclosures that follow these large block transactions.