‘Expect ₹6L-cr equity capital raise in 2026’

Equity capital raising is likely to rebound to ₹ 6 lakh crore and M&A activity may climb to $135 billion in CY2026, S Ramesh, MD & CEO of Kotak Investment Banking, tells Kshipra Petkar and Mahesh Nayak in an interview. Geopo- litical risks, however, could briefly shut market windows even as long-term activity stays resilient, he says. Excerpts:

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CY25 was good for investment banking.

What has been the broader investment banking landscape in 2025, and how do you see 2026?

Over the last two years, the business became more robust. In CY24, capital markets raised about ₹ 6 lakh crore via IPOs, QIPs, OFS and other formats. In CY25, that number dipped slightly to ₹5 lakh crore. My estimate is that CY26 should take us back to the ₹6 lakhcrore mark, given the pipeline. IPOs grew 13-14% and I expect that trend to continue, perhaps even accelerate. Out of the ₹6 lakh crore in 2026, my sense is ₹2.5 lakh crore will be IPOs, another ₹2.5 lakh crore will be sell-downs, and around ₹80,000 crore to ₹1 lakh crore will be QIPs - though they may spill over 12-15 months. In CY25, QIPs saw a 50% decline, as real estate companies had already raised capital in CY24 and were deploying it. FIG (financial institutions group) companies also preferred private or strategic capital over QIPs. On M&A, we were at about $110 billion in 2024, moved to $120-121 billion in 2025, and I expect $132-135 billion in 2026. The last six months of CY25 saw $70 billion in M&A. FIG drove much of it, but the next wave will be diversified - IT, manufacturing and healthcare.