India’s sparkling IPO spell

Hello,

This week, global VC Lightspeed, which led investment in Anthropic’s $3.5bn Series E round, said it was doubling down on frontier AI and explicitly positioned India as a buildout opportunity. 

Also, the world’s biggest alt-assets manager, Blackstone, is eyeing a majority stake in Jaipur’s Jayshree Periwal school system; while planning a $700m education platform.

Meanwhile, bankers called RBI’s 10% cap on acquisition financing ‘restrictive.’

And finally, Air India is up for full private sale with bids invited from shortlisted parties within 64 days.

I hope you enjoy this week’s roundup – please connect on LinkedIn to discuss your next M&A deal.

Let’s dive in.

Deal Tracker

Our weekly roundup of confirmed M&A deals in India.

Market Trends

Why is it raining IPOs?

We might even be in meteor shower territory as the country sees one of the busiest listing seasons in a decade. Companies are racing to meet calendar year milestones, while policy support, low inflation and strong domestic liquidity are helping to offset foreign outflows. 

In Teaser’s July IPO overview, we flagged a sharp improvement in India’s asset quality: 90% of India’s IPOs were profitable at listing, up from 56% in Q1 2024, a year when NSE saw a record 268 IPOs (90 mainboard, 178 SMEs) raising ₹1.67 lakh crore ($18.8 bn). 

Are Indian markets expensive?

By some metrics, yes. 

India trades at a premium to its own history and to emerging market peers. 

But as September earnings looked strong across energy, healthcare, and materials, and with real estate and discretionary also signalling future upside, keen investors don’t mind too much. For instance, the $821m Lenskart offering was sold out almost immediately despite being adjudged mind-bogglingly expensive. 

The month delivered impressively few misses across various market caps, and strategists argued the ‘India premium’ was supported by fundamentals.

With one caveat: analysts continue to warn that mid-cap and small-cap valuations look stretched, and this seems about right as SME performance has indeed been uneven.

Some notable examples:

• Sharp dips: Shreeji Global FMCG and Safesecure Services both fell about 20% on listing day.
• Outliers to the upside: Workmates Core2Cloud (+90%), Curis Lifesciences (+14%), Finbud Financial (+10%).

Find updated LTPs (last traded price) here.

Yet, subscription demand remains unrelentingly strong.

Summary of the action

The IPO frenzy is set to continue, with November looking stacked: 

• Mahamaya Lifesciences: listed 18 Nov
• Workmates Core2Cloud: listed 18 Nov (+90% debut)
• Curis Lifesciences: Listed 11 Nov at ₹120–128

And those coming up/recently closed:

• Shipwaves Online: ₹12;  dates TBA
• Riddhi Display: ₹95–100; listed early Oct
• Infraprime Logistics: TBA (no confirmed filings)
• Victory Electric: TBA 
• Meesho: Confidential filings; dates TBA
• InCred: large issue; dates TBA
• Hero Fincorp: DRHP stage
• Allchem Lifescience: DRHP stage
• Tata Capital: dates TBA
• WeWork India: dates TBA
• Groww :dates TBA

The mainboard is packed too:

• Capillary Technologies: 14-18 Nov; listing 21 Nov
• Excelsoft Technologies: 19-21 Nov; listing 26 Nov
• Gallard Steel:  ₹142-150; listing 26 Nov
• Sudeep Pharma: 21-25 Nov; reported band ₹563–593; listing 28 Nov

Back to the future?

Indian households are shifting money from gold, real estate, and fixed deposits into equities. Government efforts, simpler KYC, low-cost brokers, tighter IPO pricing norms, and faster settlements, all are helping attract first-time investors, much like the household financialisation in 1980s America.

India’s low inflation rates matter too: when deposit real returns stop eroding, investors feel more comfortable allocating to equities without fearing forced risk-taking. 

Households now directly own 21.5% of listed equity, and combined direct+mutual fund ownership sits at ₹130–140 lakh crore ($146-158 bn). Jefferies reported last year that only about 5% of household wealth was in equities, suggesting the trend is early, and there is much upside to come.  

For dealmakers, this shift is structural: deeper domestic pools mean smoother exits, less dependence on foreign flows, and more stable valuation cycles.

To conclude, the Indian financial horizon this winter looks bright.