Sectors traditionally dominating the public market space—particularly financials—have shrunk from 35–40% of total capital raised to just 15% this year. Instead, consumer tech, retail, and auto are emerging as the new leaders, driving the economy forward, said Nitin Maheshwari, head of India M&A, JPMorgan.
From a demand perspective, domestic investors have stepped up significantly. "The domestic story has been phenomenal," Maheshwari said, pointing out the growth of Indian middle-market businesses, many of which are now valued at over a billion dollars. He emphasised the strong capital inflows from Indian households into mutual funds and equity markets, with around Rs 45,000-50,000 crore pouring in monthly.
Private equity is also playing a pivotal role, said Abhinav Bharti, head of ECM at JPMorgan, highlighting that a significant portion of the IPO pipeline over the next 15 months—estimated at $30 billion—will involve PE backing.
This renewed confidence comes from the successful exits and redeployment of capital by PE firms. "This time, the confidence among financial sponsors is much higher that they can actually take companies with majority holding," Bharti said.
Despite India's stock market having over 7,000 listed companies, the free float is still relatively small compared to global benchmarks, with significant growth potential. This shift is just beginning, according to Maheshwari. "For the next decade, there's no reason to believe this trend should change."q
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