At least 34 companies are racing against an end-of-September deadline to launch their initial public offerings, with a daunting task of initiating share sales within 35 trading sessions - about one issue every trading day. According to reports from The Economic Times, these companies are seeking to collectively raise around ₹45,000 crore from their offerings. The companies have a year from regulatory approval date to launch their issues, but this April, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) provided a one-time relaxation allowing until September 30 for issuers whose observation letters were due to expire between April 1 and September 30. This relaxation was implemented to help companies navigate extreme volatility in risk assets following the West Asian crisis and soaring oil prices.
Despite the tight timeline, bankers remain optimistic about the IPO pipeline. As reported by The Economic Times, Kaushal Shah, managing director and head of equity capital markets at Kotak Investment Banking, noted that there remains enough time for multiple issues to hit the market as several IPOs are already lined up through mid-August. Eight IPOs have been launched in August so far, raising a combined ₹10,636 crore, following 12 issues that raised around ₹28,649 crore in July. In the first seven months of 2026, 39 IPOs raised ₹51,000 crore despite uncertain secondary market conditions. Shah estimates IPOs worth around ₹40,000 crore are lined up for July-August.
According to Prime Database, companies with draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) approvals set to expire by September 30 include Credila Financial Services, Dorf-Ketal Chemicals India, Continuum Green Energy, Veritas Finance, Prestige Hospitality Venture, and Innovatiview India. The window for launch shrinks to 35 working days after adjusting for weekly offs and the trading holiday for Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14. Other companies including Karamtara Engineering, Imagine Marketing, Mouri Tech, Ravi Infrabuild Projects, Greaves Electric Mobility, Lumino Industries, Runwal Enterprises, RITE Water Solutions, LCC Projects, Prozeal Green Energy, and A One Steels India are also targeting launches before the deadline.
Indian firms are cutting IPO sizes by 20-40% due to selective investor demand, market volatility, and valuation scrutiny. Recent examples include Juniper Green Energy, Shiprocket, Laser Power & Infra, and Indo-MIM, with several companies trimming their proposed issue sizes significantly. As per Moneycontrol, companies effectively have two options when demand at their targeted valuation is weaker than expected: lower the valuation or reduce the issue size. Madhurima Mukherjee, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, noted that firms are reducing their offer sizes amid heightened volatility and shifting investor preferences. "Cutting issue size is a valuation-protection tool when demand is merely shallow but fundamentally intact," she explained, adding that it allows issuers to maintain pricing during times when demand is present but concentrated among a smaller pool of investors.
Refiling of a fresh DRHP typically involves costs of ₹3-5 crore, repayment of Sebi filing fees, updated audited financial statements, fresh legal due diligence, and another 60-90 days of Sebi review cycle, according to independent market expert Deepak Jasani. Subscription risk is a key factor when reducing IPO sizes, as SEBI rules require at least 90% subscription of the fresh issue, failing which the company must refund subscription amounts and the IPO effectively fails. As reported by Moneycontrol, institutional investors often provide pricing feedback during roadshows, which gives issuers a sense of demand at proposed valuations. However, simply offering fewer shares or lower valuations cannot solve IPOs that investors fundamentally consider overpriced, as seen with Zepto's delayed debut. Beyond the September rush, another 133 companies with Sebi approval are collectively looking to raise more than ₹2.22 lakh crore through IPOs by the end of July 2027, according to Prime Database.
