India defies global IPO slowdown

More than 200 companies went public across India's two biggest exchanges last year even as IPO activity elsewhere—particularly in the US and Europe—remained muted.

The Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai saw 205 companies make their stock market debut, according to PitchBook data. A total of 33 were privately backed—the second-highest annual figure in the past decade.

Total IPO value was significantly higher than 2022, with roughly $1.7 billion raised by PE and VC-backed companies and just over $4.1 billion raised overall. However, this was still just over half the amount raised in 2021 when the total IPO value across the two major bourses hit a record $7.4 billion, with PE and VC-backed companies accounting for the lion's share.
   
Much of last year's Indian IPO activity took place in Q3 and Q4. One of the biggest stock market debuts was that of Tata Technologies, the engineering and research unit of Indian conglomerate Tata, in November. The offering, which was the first listing of a Tata unit in two decades, raised $365 million at a $2.4 billion valuation.

The same month also featured 2023's largest VC-backed IPO when Cello, a household consumer products company that secured funding from ICICI Venture, raised $228 million at a $1.7 billion valuation.  

The momentum is likely to continue, with the country expected to lead 2024 IPO activity in Asia. Among notable listings already in the pipeline is electric scooter manufacturer Ola Electric—backed by the likes of Temasek and SoftBank—which said in December that it is looking to raise 55 billion Indian rupees (around $664 million).

Related reads:

India bucks PE downturn as investors tap into growing economy

India VC dealmaking activity pulls back to pre-pandemic levels

Featured image of a sub-broker making flower offerings before a bull statue outside the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai by Indranil Mukherjee/Getty Images

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News