Bonds trump IPOs: Private debt fundraising in FY24 at nearly 5 times equity

Funds raised through debt private placements totalled Rs 9.41 lakh crore in FY24, nearly five times the Rs 1.86 lakh crore raised through the equity market, data from Prime Database showed. In FY23, companies raised Rs 8.52 lakh crore via debt private placement, while Rs 76,911 crore was raised through equities.

The big Bond

The highest mobilisation in FY24 through debt private placements was by NABARD at Rs 51,855 crore, followed by REC at Rs 48,976 crore and HDFC at Rs 46,062 crore.

The public bonds market also witnessed a substantial increase in FY24, with 48 issues raising Rs 20,757 crore, compared to 32 issues raising Rs 7,444 crore in the previous year. The largest issue was by PFC, which raised Rs 2,824 crore.

In the equities market, of the total mobilisation of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in FY24, fresh capital amounted to Rs 1.25 lakh crore. Initial public offerings (IPOs) generated Rs 67,753 crore while Rs 21,055 crore was mobilised via Offer for Sale of shares (OFS).

IPO street

In FY24, the largest IPO was by Mankind Pharma, which raised Rs 4,326 crore, followed by Tata Technologies at Rs 3,043 crore and JSW Infrastructure at Rs 2,800 crore.

As many as 55 companies raised Rs 68,933 crore via Qualified Institutional Placements (QIP) in FY24, nearly 7 times the Rs 9,019 crore raised in FY23.

Funds raised through Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (ReITs) also witnessed a substantial increase to Rs 17,116 crore in FY24 from just Rs 1,166 crore in FY23, reflecting significant growth in investor interest and confidence.

Resource mobilisation through rights issues, as reported by primedatabase.com, surged by 142 percent to Rs 13,966 crore in FY24 from Rs 5,779 crore raised in FY23. The largest rights issue in 2023-24 was by Grasim Industries, which raised Rs 4,000 crore, constituting 29 percent of the total rights issues.

Indian companies also raised Rs 3,55,526 crore through overseas borrowing, including External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs), a 60 percent increase from Rs 2,21,759 crore in FY23.