The good run in the initial public offering (IPO) is expected to continue in December, with as many as 28 firms raising around Rs 48,000 crore (around $5 billion), according to industry players. This could make 2025 the biggest year, in terms of fund mobilisation of around Rs 2 lakh, ever.
In 2024, the IPOs of 91 companies raised Rs 1,59,784 crore setting a record. This year 93 mainboard issuances have already raised Rs 1,54,133 crore. The year-end rush could also set a new record for the month of December.
Why the market is surging
“The supply is massive with PE and VC backed firms’ IPOs,” said London-based Arvind Chari, chief investment strategist at Q India (UK). Some experts said the increased retail participation is a sign of confidence in the system.
“As young Indian companies mature and go public, they’re meeting a swelling populace of Indian investors,” Sudarshan Ramakrishnan, Co-Head, India Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs said in a report.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) too are active in Indian IPOs in 2025, even while being net sellers in the broader market. They allocated more than $8 billion in India IPOs this year. Three-quarters of the funding in 2024 IPOs was domestic, compared to just a quarter a few years earlier.
Unicorns and Financial Heavyweights
After the string of unicorn listings in November – Lenskart, Groww, Pine Labs, and Physics Wallah – another wave of unicorn IPOs is awaited in December. This includes unicorn Fractal (₹4,900 crore), the first major AI IPO, and Clean Max Enviro Solutions’ Rs 5,200 crore issuance.
SoftBank-backed e-commerce unicorn Meesho’s Rs 6,000 crore issuance follows a confidentially filed draft (DRHP) approved by Sebi in mid-October.
The largest IPOs expected in December is ICICI Prudential AMC’s Rs 10,000 crore float, anticipating regulatory clearance this month. It will be assisted by 18 book-running lead managers (BRLMs), including eight foreign investment banks.
Among others, ARCIL will be among the first asset-reconstruction firms to list, and Park Medi World (Rs 1,260 crore) are planning a December IPO. Two food makers Milky Mist Dairy Food (₹2035 crore) and Curefoods India (Rs 800 crore), which also plans a pre-IPO placement, are also in fray.