Fundraising stays robust in 2025 as IPOs hit records, QIPs shrink sharply

IPO and SME IPO fundraising hit record highs in 2025 despite market volatility, while rights issues surged and QIPs fell sharply amid FPI selling and elevated valuations

Fundraising through equity markets remained robust despite volatility in secondary markets in 2025, with mopup from initial public offerings (IPOs) and small and medium enterprise initial public offerings (SME IPOs) hitting record highs.  

 

One hundred and three firms raised ₹1.75 trillion through IPOs.  In terms of the number of issuances, it was the best year for the IPO market since 2000.  This also marks the first time India has seen two consecutive years of record primary-market fundraising; historically, a blockbuster year has been followed by two to three quieter ones.

 

Two hundred sixty-seven firms raised ₹11,437 crore through the SME platform.

 

The number of rights issues more than doubled and hit a 28-year high in 2025, amid a market correction that softened prices, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) revised framework for rights issues paved the way for easier execution.

 

QIPs, on the other hand, declined sharply, falling from 95 issues in 2024 to 35 in 2025.

 

"Geo-political factors like unpredictable tariff regime, concerns about slowdown in corporate earnings, coupled with premium valuations in India and consistent selling by FPIs had their share of impact on QIP and block activities.  We may perhaps see QIP rise to $10-13 billion mark (better than CY25), and there can be an upward bias if companies are in acquisition mode,  and use QIP to fund it," said V. Jayasankar, Managing Director of Kotak Investment Banking.

 

Jayasankar added that the secondary market outlook for 2026 is better, driven by a stronger corporate earnings outlook and valuations that appear more attractive following the CY25 correction.

 

"The primary market, as well as overall ECM activity, is likely to benefit from this positive sentiment.  We believe that large- and mid-sized IPOs, in general, will receive a better reception, as the number of filings has risen dramatically and investors are becoming more discerning.  We expect the IPO market to possibly grow to about $25 billion, up from $21 billion in CY25.  The overall ECM will also benefit, and we can expect the overall volume to go up from $55 billion to somewhere closer to 70 billion," said Jayasankar.