Swedish private equity house EQT emerged as the most prolific sponsor seller of listed equity last year in EMEA’s equity capital markets (ECM), driven by a sustained programme of accelerated placements in Swiss dermatology group Galderma.

EQT posted USD 5.6bn of sponsor selldown volumes in 2025, more than double its USD 2.4bn in 2024, according to Dealogic data.

The surge was anchored by four large block trades in Galderma totalling USD 9.64bn, underscoring the sponsor’s willingness to tap the equity markets repeatedly to reduce its holdings in its listed firms.

EQT’s reported volume is lower than the headline figure for the Galderma deal, as the sponsor invested as part of a consortium.

Across its Galderma disposals, EQT deliberately left money on the table to support liquidity and pricing for subsequent blocks, a strategy that has seen the stock trade above offer levels post-execution.

Market sources said this dynamic is one of the reasons EQT has become a de facto benchmark for sponsor-led ECM in Europe.

Aside from Galderma, EQT also executed two block trades in Azelis Group SA/NV worth USD 881m, rounding out an active year in sponsor distributions.

Second on the sponsor selldown leaderboard was Apollo Global Management, with volumes of USD 2.7bn through four block trades in Italian gaming and payments group Lottomatica.

Last year’s figure represented nearly a five-fold increase on its USD 588m in 2024, reflecting Apollo’s strategy of capitalising on share price momentum following its acquisition and re-rating of the business.

The scale of 2025 selldowns indicates that Apollo significantly expanded its partial exit proceeds compared with the prior year.

Listed sponsor CVC Capital Partners ranked third with USD 1.7bn, through selldowns of Italian pharmaceutical maker Recordati Industria Chimica e Farmaceutica (USD 610m) and Polish retailer Zabka Group (USD 590m).

Fourth was long-time market participant Wendel, posting USD 1.6bn of returns through follow-ons in 2025, up from USD 1.19bn in 2024, driven by continued selldowns in Bureau Veritas SA. These trades were priced more tightly than Bureau Veritas’s 2007 IPO discount, reflecting stronger liquidity and sponsor confidence in the business’s post-listing performance.

Belgian investor Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) rounded out the top five with USD 1.19bn in secondary follow-ons, returning to the market with blocks in SGS SA (USD 840m) and Umicore SA/NV (USD 349m). The trades were the sponsor’s first selldowns since 2023.

The remainder of the top ten was Permira (USD 1.05bn), TDR Capital (USD 833m), GIP (USD 707m), Cinven (USD 615m) and IFM (USD 580m).

In 4Q 2025, EQT also led quarterly activity with USD 1.71bn, ahead of CVC (USD 1.17bn), IFM (USD 580m), Permira (USD 436m) and TDR (USD 360m).

Overall, sponsor selldowns in 2025 eclipsed prior years as sponsors responded to improving liquidity conditions, investor demand for yield-bearing equity, and pressure from LPs to accelerate distributions.

Looking ahead in 2026, sponsors sitting on large, partially monetised public holdings are expected to continue driving ECM volumes.

With exit timelines extending and IPO windows remaining episodic, secondary selldowns and structured blocks are likely to remain the preferred route for liquidity.