New Delhi, Dec 10 : Indian companies have built an initial public offering (IPO) pipeline exceeding Rs 2.55 lakh crore for the coming calendar year as firms rush to tap buoyant investor demand.

For 2026, 88 companies have secured SEBI approval to float IPOs worth around Rs 1.16 lakh crore, while another 104 await clearance to raise nearly Rs 1.4 lakh crore.

The surge is also reflected in an unprecedented 244 draft red herring prospectuses filed in 2025, far higher than 157 filings in 2024, as per data.

The robust IPO pipeline follows a blockbuster 2025 when about 100 firms, the highest count since 2007, raised a record Rs 1.77 lakh crore through mainboard offerings, marginally higher than 2024 tally.

Momentum has strengthened after Rs 1.6 lakh crore was raised in 2024 from 91 IPOs and over Rs 49,500 crore raised from 57 IPOs in 2023.

Market analysts attributed the surge to broader bullishness, active private equity and venture capital funds seeking exits, when there is abundant liquidity in domestic market.

Largely due to consistent participation from foreign portfolio investors, retail buyers, high-net-worth individuals, and mutual funds during a period when secondary markets remained restrained, the year's fund mobilisation occurred despite muted listing gains.

Almost half of the more than 300 firms listed so far this year are trading below their offer price when the scrips debuted.

Promoters, PE firms and venture capital investors have offloaded in total over Rs 1.1 lakh crore through offers for sale (OFS) this year.

Analysts said that firms are using buoyant demand to lock in funding before global conditions tighten, and India has eased the process for companies to list and initiated a run of big-ticket deals.

Almost half of the more than 300 firms listed so far this year are trading below their offer price when the scrips debuted.

SEBI in November proposed key reforms to address long-standing challenges around locking in pre-IPO pledged shares and simplifying public issue disclosures.

It suggested enabling depositories to designate pledged shares as "non-transferable" for the lock-in period in response to directives from the issuer.

/IANS