Indian IPOs raise record funds via shareholder sales
The Indian IPO market raised a record ₹94,205 crore in the first half of FY27, but the capital structure of these offerings has shifted dramatically. Nearly 59 per cent of the total funds came through offers for sale (OFS), a mechanism that returns money to existing shareholders rather than funding company operations. This trend contrasts sharply with the previous year, when fresh issues accounted for a larger share of the total pool.
According to PRIME Database, ₹55,695 crore flowed to selling shareholders in H1 FY27, while fresh capital raised totaled ₹38,510 crore. This marked a reversal from H1 FY26, when fresh issues comprised about 52 per cent of the ₹69,533 crore raised. The shift was driven largely by the ₹22,563-crore listing of the National Stock Exchange, which was an all-OFS issue representing nearly 24 per cent of the total H1 fundraising. Excluding the NSE mega-issue, the broader market raised about ₹71,642 crore, a modest increase of just 3 per cent over the same period last year.
The surge in OFS activity was not a broad-based trend across the market. While fresh capital increased 6.4 per cent year-on-year to ₹38,510 crore, the rise was much slower than the 35 per cent growth in overall fundraising. This divergence suggests that while companies are accessing the market, the nature of those access points is changing. The 42 per cent of fresh issue proceeds directed toward debt repayment indicates a cautious approach to expansion, prioritizing balance sheet health over aggressive scaling in the current environment.
Activity was heavily concentrated in the latter part of the half, with 78 mainboard issues occurring in H1 FY27 compared to 65 in the same period the previous year. September alone accounted for more than 40 per cent of H1 fundraising, driven by 34 companies raising ₹39,340 crore. The NSE issue accounted for more than half of the month’s proceeds. This rush coincided with the September 30 expiry of a one-time extension granted by SEBI for IPO approvals that were due to lapse between April and September. The extension was meant to provide breathing room for companies facing weak market conditions earlier in the year.
With the regulatory deadline passed, the pipeline for the second half remains strong. Nearly 250 companies are seeking to raise about ₹4.65 lakh crore. The concentration of the NSE listing in the data highlights that while the market is active, the largest transactions are often singular events rather than a steady stream of consistent fundraising volume across all sectors.
