Blackstone Exits Packaging Firm EPL by Selling Entire 26.38% Stake for ₹2,032 Crore

Global investment firm Blackstone has fully exited Mumbai-based packaging company EPL Ltd (formerly Essel Propack) by selling its entire 26.38 per cent stake for Rs 2,032 crore. The transaction was executed on Tuesday through an open market bulk deal on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Through its affiliate Epsilon Bidco Pte Ltd, which served as the promoter of the packaging firm, Blackstone offloaded a total of 8,44,79,781 shares. According to exchange data, the shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 240.57 per share, bringing the total transaction value to Rs 2,032.33 crore.

Following the block deal, shares of EPL Ltd declined by 8.47 per cent to close at Rs 239.90 apiece on the NSE.

The stake was picked up by a broad group of institutional buyers, including domestic mutual funds, insurers, asset managers, and foreign investors. Identified purchases accounted for a total of 3,37,05,174 shares, amounting to a 10.52 per cent stake in the company.

Quant Mutual Fund emerged as the largest buyer in the transaction. Quant acquired more than 1.43 crore shares—representing a 4.48 per cent stake—across two tranches at prices ranging between Rs 240.10 and Rs 240.93 per share, with an aggregate value of Rs 345.07 crore. This purchase increased Quant's total holding in EPL from 2.47 per cent to 6.95 per cent.

Other domestic mutual funds and institutions also participated in the buying. Funds managed by ICICI Prudential, Edelweiss, Bandhan, 360 One Group, and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company collectively acquired over 1.3 crore shares, representing a 4.07 per cent stake, for Rs 313.34 crore.

Foreign institutional investors also took positions in the open market transaction. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board, a Canadian Crown corporation, acquired shares valued at Rs 85 crore, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority purchased shares worth Rs 66 crore. Specific details regarding the buyers of the remaining shares were not immediately available on the exchange data.

This complete exit by Blackstone follows EPL's previously announced proposed merger with Indovida India Pvt Ltd, a rigid PET packaging platform, which was unveiled in March. That proposed merger aims to create a USD 1 billion revenue entity with a combined valuation of USD 2 billion. Under the proposed merger structure, Indorama Ventures—which acquired a 24.9 per cent stake in EPL in May—is slated to become the promoter holding a 51.8 per cent stake, while Blackstone was previously slated to hold a 16.6 per cent share in the merged entity prior to this open market exit.

"Blackstone's complete exit from EPL through an open market transaction highlights the active role institutional liquidity plays in restructuring large-scale manufacturing and packaging businesses in India. The absorption of these shares by prominent domestic mutual funds and global institutional investors demonstrates sustained market confidence in the sector's fundamentals. As consolidations and strategic realignments like the proposed merger continue to unfold, secondary market transactions of this scale provide a clear liquidity pathway for early private equity backers while transitioning ownership to strategic long-term institutional holders." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes