Nomura sees India deal boom as global funds circle

Nomura's investment banking arm expects public-market activity in India to stay strong through year-end, while global buyout funds keep scouting for ways to expand, senior executives said in an interview with Mint.

Amit Thawani, Nomura's India head of investment banking, said the firm has closed multiple equity capital markets transactions in recent months and sees a similar pipeline ahead. That includes block deals, QIPs and IPOs, though the mix is shifting.

The firm advised Ather Energy's $135 million QIP and Sterlite Technologies' $158 million QIP earlier this year. It also worked on two block deals worth $272 million for Anthem Biosciences and handled Clean Max Energy's $509 million pre-IPO and IPO process. In August, Nomura priced Dhoot Transmissions' $320 million public listing. Over the past year, its larger public-market mandates include HDB Financial Services ($1.5 billion), ICICI Prudential ($1.1 billion) and Afcons' billion-dollar pre-IPO and IPO process.

QIPs and block deals are outpacing IPOs by value this year as more companies tap public markets through smaller issue sizes, according to Mahesh Natarajan, head of India ECM at Nomura. "While IPO activity has picked up significantly in the last month, the story so far seems to indicate that public listings may not hit last year's record levels," he said. He expects overall ECM activity to approach 2025 levels even if the product mix varies.

Natarajan said investors increasingly use secondary or block deals as an exit or monetization option, rather than an offer-for-sale in an IPO, because a listed company often commands a better valuation. Several private-equity owned companies are going public faster than before. In those cases, he said, the IPO is mainly about unlocking optionality and raising capital, not exiting the investor.

Nomura is bullish on financials, consumer, healthcare, enterprise tech, industrials and infrastructure across both private and public markets. Manish Agarwal, who heads the firm's industrials and infrastructure verticals, said family-owned businesses are increasingly seeking private capital before a public listing. That shift in promoter mindset is most visible in industrials, he noted. Beyond auto, electronic manufacturing services and related segments, defence, aerospace and semiconductors are emerging as sunrise areas. "There is a real demand as strategics globally are looking at India as their base for sourcing and manufacturing," Agarwal said.

Nomura is also deepening coverage of the new economy segment. Thawani said startups in this space are no longer nascent but have matured, grown fast and become sizeable. The firm's recent new-economy mandates include Wakefit's $170 million pre-IPO and IPO deal, Ather's $352 million IPO in 2025 and Kreditbee's $280 million private fundraise earlier this year.

On the private side, cross-border transactions are expected to continue, though pure buyout fund activity has become more selective in recent months, Thawani said. Nomura has advised on sell-side deals including Blackstone's exit from Aadhar Housing Finance, a minority stake sale in Edelweiss AMC to Westbridge Capital, and a strategic capital partnership for Sun Mobility with Indian Oil Corp alongside its private fundraise. On the buyside, the firm advised on Jana Small Finance Bank, Blackstone's $705 million purchase of a 9.9% stake in Federal Bank, JFE Steel's $1.75 billion acquisition of a 50% stake in Bhushan Power & Steel from JSW Steel, and Tata AutoComp Systems' acquisition of European component maker Artifex Interior Systems.

Thawani sees more strategic interest into India over the next 12-18 months, with inbound interest across industrials and financials, while domestic strategics also scout overseas. Some Asia-focused buyout funds with large India exposure have dry powder to deploy. "They have tremendous appetite to execute big transactions in India and are extremely sophisticated investors who understand dual-track processes to leverage opportunities," Thawani said, adding that recent exits have encouraged them to evaluate India more closely.

Nomura opened its India office in 2007 and has three verticals – investment banking, fixed income and equities. Its investment banking business covers M&A advisory, equity capital markets and financing, including acquisition financing, margin financing and private credit. The firm has over 40 investment bankers in Mumbai. Thawani said India is a prominent business within Asia ex-Japan and a meaningful part of the overall franchise.

The article included a note that Nomura, founded more than a century ago, is headquartered in Japan and operates a global network.