More than two-dozen companies are planning to launch their initial public offerings (IPOs) worth Rs 12,000 crore over the next 6-8 months amid anticipation of a bull run in the secondary markets.

VRL Logistics, a Hubballi-based logistics service provider, will open its public issue on April 15. The company aims to raise about R451-468 crore. Notable domestic financial services firms have recommended investors to subscribe to the issue, citing strong business model and growing demand. The company has set a price of R195-205 per share.

In addition, 10 companies have received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and may launch their issues in the next 1-2 months. These include UFO Moviez (R750 crore), Sadbhav Infra (R650 crore), and Power Mech Projects (R180 crore), among others.

State-owned RINL (R1500 crore), MEP Infra Developers (R360 crore) and Great Eastern Shipping (R300 crore) also have Sebi approval and can launch their IPOs within a year from the date of Sebi clearance.

Investment bankers say  there is a robust IPO pipeline building up. Work on most of these IPOs started only after June as very few had expected the election mandate.

“The primary markets are definitely attracting a fair share of investor interest … There is a great faith in India’s macro-economic growth story and investors are convinced that sentiments in the secondary markets are strong and heading in the right direction. It is certainly good to have a healthy primary market, otherwise there is too much money in the system chasing limited paper, which could lead to an asset bubble,” said V Jayasankar, senior ED & ECM-head, Kotak Investment Banking.

Nearly 15 companies have filed their prospectus with Sebi and are awaiting clearance. The amount these companies are planning to raise is pegged at R5,000 crore. The list includes companies like Navkar Corp (R600 crore), Dilip Buildcon (R600 crore), Prabhat Dairy (R500 crore), Amar Ujala (R450 crore), Catholic Syrian Bank (R400 crore) and Manpasand Beverages (R400 crore).

So far this calendar, three companies launched their IPOs on the main board and another 11 on the SME platform. These companies cumulatively raised about R1,650 crore in the first four months of calendar 2015.