EASY MONEY SEASON

EVEN IF MAKING MONEY IN THE MARKET STAYS HARD, RAISING IT MAY REMAIN EASY IN 2026

- KISHOR KADAM & JOYDEEP GHOSH

IT WAS A YEAR WHEN making money in the secondary market felt like hard labour — but raising money felt almost effortless.

Consider the scorecard. The Sensex and Nifty were up a modest 9.3% and 10.6% year-todate. The midcap and smallcap indices, once the darlings of retail investors, slipped into the red, returning 0.8% and-6.7%, respectively. And yet, the primaty market told a very different story. The average listing day gain from 102 IPOs in 2025 stood at 9.3% — comfortably ahead of most benchmarks. Gujarat Kidney & Super Special-ity, whose IPO ended on December 24, is yet to list.

For promoters, the message was unmistakable: if the market wouldn’t reward you every day, it was still more than happy to fund you.

That enthusiasm translated into numbers rarely seen before. As many as 103 companies hit the market this year, raising a record ₹1.8 lakh crore — making 2025 the second consecutive blockbuster year for IPO fundraising. This was despite average listing gains falling sharply, from over 25% in 2023 and 2024 to under 10% this year. The dip barely mattered. Retail investors, high net-worth individuals and institutions— both domestic and foreign— lined up anyway.

The frenzy began early. January itself set the tone. Four of the six IPOs that month were subscribed more than 180 times. Laxmi Dental saw demand exceed 114 times its offer, while Denta Water and Infra Solutions stole the spotlight with a staggering 221times subscription. Together, the six January issues raised ₹4,845 crore — and ignited a yearlong rush. By December, 42 IPOs had been subscribed over 50 times, and 15 had crossed the 100-times mark.