Fundraising By Indian Companies Shows No Slowdown Despite Market Volatility

Fundraising by Indian corporates through equity and debt reached an all-time high in 2024-25, despite market fluctuations, according to a report by PRIME Database. Overall, public equity fundraising surged 92% to Rs 3.71 lakh crore, with additional funds raised through rights issues pushing the total closer to Rs 3.88 lakh crore. Debt fundraising also hit a record Rs 11.12 lakh crore, primarily through private placements.

Looking forward, the IPO pipeline remains strong, with 49 companies holding SEBI approval to raise Rs 84,000 crore, while another 67 companies await clearance for Rs 1.02 lakh crore, the report noted.

However, market volatility in March led to a slowdown in new IPO launches, marking the first month since May 2023 without a mainboard IPO. “Companies are in a wait-and-watch mode, preferring to delay their launches rather than enter a bearish market,” it said.

Record-Breaking Year For IPOs

This financial year saw 78 companies raising Rs 1.62 lakh crore through mainboard IPOs, marking the highest-ever annual fundraising, PRIME Database pointed out. This was more than 2.5 times the Rs 61,922 crore raised in 2023-24.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. led with the largest IPO at Rs 27,859 crore, followed by Swiggy Ltd. (Rs 11,327 crore) and NTPC Green Energy Ltd. (Rs 10,000 crore). The smallest IPO came from Kronox Lab Sciences, raising Rs 130 crore. The average deal size also more than doubled to Rs 2,082 crore from Rs 815 crore last year.

New-age technology companies saw a resurgence, with eight IPOs—Awfis Space Solutions Ltd., Zinka Logistics Solutions Ltd. or Blackbuck, Go Digit General Insurance Ltd., Brainbess Solutions' 'FirstCry', Le Travenues Technology Ltd. or Ixigo, One Mobikwik Systems Ltd., Swiggy, and Unicommerce E Solutions Ltd.—cumulatively raising Rs 21,438 crore.

This was a significant jump from Rs 3,040 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 5,544 crore in 2021-22.

Investor enthusiasm remained high, with 56 IPOs receiving subscriptions of over 10 times, including 33 IPOs that saw demand exceeding 50 times. Seven IPOs were subscribed more than three times, while the remaining 15 saw demand in the range of one to three times, the report said.

Retail Investors Lead Participation

Retail investor interest continued to rise, with the average number of applications surging to 21.33 lakh in 2024-25, up from 13.15 lakh last year. However, only Rs 40,471 crore was allocated to retail investors, accounting for 25% of the total IPO fundraising, as per PRIME Database.

Waaree Energies Ltd. attracted the highest number of retail applications (70.13 lakh), followed by Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd. (58.66 lakh) and KRN Heat Exchanger & Refrigeration Ltd. (55.23 lakh).

IPO listings delivered strong returns, with the average listing gain rising to 30% from 29% in 2023-24, the report said. Nearly 46 IPOs continue to trade above their issue price, with an average return of 15% despite market corrections in the latter half of the year.

Other Highlights From The Report

• Anchor Investors & QIBs: Foreign portfolio investors accounted for 16% of total IPO allocations through anchor investments, while mutual funds made up 13%. Overall, QIBs took up 67% of the total public issue amount.

• SME IPOs: 235 SME IPOs raised Rs 9,133 crore, up 53% from last year, with retail oversubscription averaging 233 times.

• FPOs: Vodafone Idea's Rs 18,000-crore offering accounted for nearly all the Rs 18,142 crore raised through follow-on public offers.

• OFS: Offer-for-sale transactions increased 29% to Rs 30,741 crore, with the government's divestment contributing Rs 4,359 crore.

• QIPs: Qualified institutional placements more than doubled, with 91 companies raising Rs 1.43 lakh crore, led by Vedanta and Zomato at Rs 8,500 crore each.

• Rights issues: Fundraising through rights issues rose marginally to Rs 14,452 crore, led by UPL's Rs 3,378-crore issue.

• Public bonds: Public bond fundraising stood at Rs 8,044 crore, with the majority of debt issuances happening through private placements.