Companies raised Rs 68,608 cr through equities in 2015

New Delhi: Indian firms mopped up over Rs 68,608 crore through the equity market route in 2015, with offer-for sale (OFS) emerging as the most preferred way to mobilise capital for their business needs. This is 76 percent higher than Rs 39,067 crore raised through the equity market in 2014.

In the equity space, the funds were mobilised through OFS via the stock exchange mechanism, qualified institutional placement (QIP) and initial public offers (IPO). Out of the total Rs 68,608 crore raised, fresh capital accounted for only Rs 25,964 crore, with the remaining Rs 42,644 crore coming from offers for sale.

"The year could have been even better but for the deferment of several PSU offerings. The year, of course, fell short of Rs 97,746 crore, the highest amount which has ever been raised (in 2010)," Prime Database Managing Director Pranav Haldea said. OFS, mostly used for dilution of promoters' holdings, made up 52 percent of the overall funds raised through public issuance of equities.

Firms mobilised Rs 35,564 crore through this route, higher than Rs 5,000 crore in 2014. This was mainly on account of the government's divestment proceeds of Rs 35,291 crore. The largest OFS was that of Coal India, which fetched Rs 22,558 crore followed by Indian Oil (Rs 9,396 crore). Besides, companies mopped up Rs 19,182 crore through the QIP route, a far cry from Rs 31,684 crore in 2014.

The largest QIP of 2015 was from IndusInd Bank raising Rs 4,328 crore. The best part is the IPO market was in a turnaround mode after four disappointing years. Despite turbulent secondary markets, 21 main-board IPOs came to the market collectively raising Rs 13,602 crore. The highest-ever mobilisation through initial share sale plans was in 2010 at Rs 37,535 crore.

In comparison, five IPOs had hit the capital market to garner just Rs 1,201 crore in 2014. The year 2015 again saw a flurry of activity on the SME (small and medium enterprise) front. There were as many as 43 SME IPOs that collected Rs 260 crore as against 40 with Rs 267 crore last year. The largest IPO came from InterGlobe Aviation, which runs the IndiGo airline, for Rs 3,017 crore, with the average deal size at Rs 648 crore.

Haldea said the coming year looks even more promising as there are 20 companies that have secured Sebi's approval to raise Rs 7,315 crore, with 11 still on wait-list to mop up Rs 5,445 crore. Besides, many more filings are expected in the near future, he added. Apart from equity, 19 issues raised Rs 12,240 crore in the public bond market in 2015. In comparison, 33 issues mobilised Rs 24,216 crore in 2014.