Nomura sees strong public market momentum, global buyout interest in India

Nomura expects India's public markets to stay active with QIPs and block deals gaining traction, while global buyout funds with dry powder continue to scout for large India opportunities. After a strong run of QIPs, block deals and IPOs, Nomura's investment banking arm expects public-market activity to remain robust through the rest of the year, its top executives said.

Earlier this year, Nomura advised on Ather Energy's $135 million QIP, Sterlite Technologies' $158 million QIP, and two block deals worth $272 million in Anthem Biosciences and Clean Max Energy's $509 million pre-IPO and IPO processes. It also priced Dhoot Transmissions' $320 million public listing in August. The value of QIPs and blocks is surpassing IPOs this year as several companies tap public markets through smaller issue sizes.

Nomura is bullish on sectors such as financials, consumer, healthcare, enterprise tech, industrials and infrastructure. On the private side, cross-border transactions are expected to continue, though pure buyout fund activity has become more selective. Nomura was the financial advisor on Blackstone's purchase of a 9.9% stake worth $705 million in Federal Bank and JFE Steel's acquisition of a 50% stake worth $1.75 billion in Bhushan Power & Steel.