IPO boom: 2020-25 fundraising tops previous 20 years despite fewer issues

India’s capital markets have reached a major milestone, with companies raising more money through initial public offerings (IPOs) in the past five years than in the previous two decades combined. IPO fundraising between 2020 and 2025 touched ₹5.39 lakh crore, surpassing the ₹4.56 lakh crore raised during the entire 2,000-2,020 period, according to data from Equirus Capital. This was achieved with just 336 IPOs in 2020–2025, significantly lower than 658 issues during the 2000–2020 period.

 

The Mumbai-based investment banking firm said one of the reasons behind this increased capital raising is that the average IPO size in the last five years has been ₹1,605 crore compared to ₹692 crore between 2000 and 2020.

 

Bhavesh Shah, managing director and head of investment banking at Equirus Capital, said the increasing acceptability of Offer for sale IPO issues has helped Private Equity funds secure exits and aided partial monetisation of promoters’ successful entrepreneurship.

 

The average offer for sale (OFS) as a percentage of total funds raised has increased to over 50 per cent in 2025, compared to less than 10 per cent in 2011 and almost nil in 2001. 

 

Private equity exit trends further reinforce this momentum. The first ten months of 2025 saw the share of secondary sales in PE exits more than double from 7 per cent in 2024 to 16 per cent, the IB firm said. While block deals remain the dominant exit method, their contribution has declined sharply from 67 per cent in 2024 to 56 per cent in the January-October 2025 period. 

 

“This deal volume will only grow in the future as $165 billion worth of PE investments mature and reach the disinvestment stage in future years,” Shah said.

 

In 2026, Equirus Capital expects three major themes to shape India’s IPO landscape 2026, including a strong investor appetite for new-age and digital-economy IPOs, and large-size IPOs setting new benchmarks and deepening market liquidity. Additionally, the increasing participation of issuers from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, reflecting the democratisation of India’s capital markets, will define India's IPO markets in 2026. 

 

“Issues from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities now account for more than a quarter of the value of IPOs, up from just 4 per cent in 2021,” Shah noted.

 

These fundraising trends are supported by India’s economic momentum. The country remains the world's fastest-growing major economy, supported by a revival in manufacturing, policy initiatives such as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, and a strong entrepreneurial base. 

 

This momentum has also driven robust domestic flows into capital markets. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) now hold a larger share of NSE-listed companies than foreign institutional investors—a shift that analysts say reflects growing confidence in India’s long-term growth story. According to data from Equirus Capital, DIIs' share in NSE-listed companies has increased from 14 per cent in March 2021 to 18 per cent in September 2025. However, FIIs' share has declined from 21 per cent in March 2021 to 17 per cent in September 2025.

 

Shah expects a strong pipeline of IPOs and capital raising via this route to touch $20 billion in 2026, with IPOs like Oyo, PhonePe, Flipkart, Jio Platforms, NSE and SBI Mutual Fund in the pipeline.