Mumbai: Oister Global, a secondary-focused firm, is expected to launch its third fund in the coming months, after investing more than ₹1,000 crore over the last two years in acquiring stakes in startups such as BlackBuck, OfBusiness, Purplle, Shiprocket and BlueStone.
The size of the first fund was about ₹300 crore, followed by a ₹400-crore second fund. The third fund is likely to have a corpus of ₹500 crore and will go live shortly, Oister’s co-founder and co-chief executive officer Sandeep Sinha told Mint in an interview. The Gurugram-based investment firm, which purchases shares from early investors in private companies, also uses balance sheet capital for direct investments alongside co-investments from limited partners (LPs), he said.
Oister’s funds are structured as alternative investment funds (AIFs), which are privately pooled vehicles regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. These funds invest in unlisted assets such as private equity and venture capital deals, rather than traditional stocks and bonds. Secondary-focused firms typically operate under Category II AIFs, which allow them to buy stakes in private companies from existing investors.
Broadly, the AIFs have undergone a defining structural shift with domestic investors now accounting for about 55.3% of Category I and II AIF capital in September 2025, up from nearly 50.3% in March 2024, according to a joint study released by Oister and Crisil last month. The trend indicates a more self-sustaining, locally-anchored capital base that reduces reliance on foreign capital.
“We would ideally want to do about 1-2 funds a year and create a continuous throughput. The momentum and demand in the market has been exceptional as funds are actively seeking options beyond IPOs to get liquidity,” Sinha said. "There is an increased need for exits in the ecosystem and secondaries are playing a very crucial role in driving that liquidity. As a result, our strategy is tailored around a continuous release of focused funds to fuel the liquidity in the market on a regular basis,” Sinha explained.
His comments come as secondary transactions surged about 32% to ₹37,700 crore in FY25, with average deal sizes also expanding sharply, signalling deeper institutional participation. As the industry scales, secondary transaction outcomes will further drive price discovery, improve liquidity, and bring greater discipline and accountability to valuations in a rapidly expanding asset class, according to the joint report.
“We aim to become a consolidation engine for general partners and founders looking to realign their capitalization table 24-36 months before they head for a public listing,” he said, adding that that the investment firm has gradually expanded its average ticket size to ₹70-100 crore and is also actively pursuing follow-on rounds in its portfolio companies.
Through the first fund, Oister has invested in Blackbuck, Shiprocket, OfBusiness, BlueStone and Servify while the second fund has seen investments in Purplle, Kuku, Servify, Bombay Shaving Company and a follow-on round in BlueStone. The firm is closing final investment in the second fund.
Oister typically targets companies that are a category leader in their respective segment and growing ahead of its peers every year with a definite path to profitability or are already profitable. The firm also looks for a clear line of sight for an exit within 36-48 months for its investments.
Separately, Oister Global and global venture capital firm Tribe Capital launched a $500 million secondaries franchise in 2024 to invest in India over the next two years. With several investors nearing the end of their fund life cycles, the firms believe that India offers a large opportunity for secondary transactions, as investors seek liquidity and prepare to exit companies they have been invested in for years.