Mumbai, April 24 -- With high interest rates, valuation gaps, and global upheavals weighing on traditional mergers and acquisitions (M&A), promoters and institutional investors are turning to the secondary market, driving block and bulk deals to a multi-year high in the January-April period despite bearish sentiment.

This year, until 15 April, a total of Rs.1.1 trillion changed hands in open-market trades, up 25% from Rs.86,810 crore a year ago, according to data from capital markets platform Prime Database.

Deven R. Choksey, founder and managing director of boutique fund DRChoksey FinServ, said that investors are using block and bulk deals to realign portfolio weights or pare long‑held positions quickly in a volatile market.

"Wh...