Gaja Capital's IPO Could Open Public Paths for Indian PE Firms The firm has a diverse portfolio across education, financial services, and technology, including names such as Fractal Analytics, People Home Finance, RBL Bank, TeamLease, Lighthouse Learning, Avendus, Educational Initiatives, LeadSquared, and Signzy.
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Gaja Capital, a home-grown private equity (PE) firm, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO), positioning it to become the first PE firm in the country to go public.
The firm is expected to raise around INR 500-600 crore through the IPO, which was filed via the confidential route. Before this, in June, Gaja Capital secured INR 125 crore in a pre-IPO placement from HDFC Life Insurance Co., SBI Life Insurance Co., Akash Bhanshali, and Jagdish Master, valuing the firm at approximately INR 1,625 crore.
JM Financial and IIFL Securities are advising the company on the offering.
In terms of investments, Gaja Capital led a USD 20 million (INR 167 crore) Series C round in Eggoz, a branded-egg producer, in June. Two months later, it backed Weaver Services, an affordable housing finance company that is acquiring Centrum Housing Finance for about INR 600 crore.
The firm has a diverse portfolio across education, financial services, and technology, including names such as Fractal Analytics, People Home Finance, RBL Bank, TeamLease, Lighthouse Learning, Avendus, Educational Initiatives, LeadSquared, and Signzy.
Earlier in 2025, Gaja Capital appointed former SEBI chairman U.K. Sinha as its non-executive chairman. The firm's executive board currently comprises founders Gopal Jain, Ranjit Shah, and Imran Jafar, while non-executive members include Shailesh Haribhakti, Prithvi Haldea, Manish Sabharwal, Arindam Bhattacharya, and Shital Mehra.
Gaja Capital's move mirrors a growing trend in Asia, where private investment firms are exploring public listings to deepen their capital base and enhance transparency.
India's alternative assets market is expected to grow five times to USD 2 trillion (INR 1,69,76,000 crore) by 2034, according to a report by Avendus Capital. The market currently sits at USD 400 billion (INR 33,95,200 crore) in assets under management (AUM), according to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
Growth is poised to be driven by investor maturity, diversified portfolio, and favourable regulatory environments in the near future.
Globally, firms like EQT (Sweden), Bridgepoint (UK), and Blue Owl Capital (US) have successfully listed in recent years, drawing attention from institutional investors seeking exposure to alternative assets.
Jenny Lee, founder and senior managing partner at Granite Asia, described Asia as a "nascent capital market" that needs a major catalyst, likening it to the "Taylor Swift of IPOs," to truly open up listing windows during a CNBC event earlier this year. She said that many companies don't list simply because "there is limited benefit for companies to go public today if they don't need the capital or limelight".
Gaja's IPO route might not just be about raising money, but also signalling a maturation of private capital markets in India and the APAC, and could serve as a kickstarter for other major PE firms to follow suit.
In India and the broader South Asian region, the IPO route for PE firms remains largely uncharted. While asset managers such as ICICI Venture, Kotak Alternate Assets, and ChrysCapital have built strong reputations in private markets, none have yet taken the public route.
Gaja Capital's IPO could therefore set a precedent for other domestic PE and venture capital firms contemplating similar paths amid growing investor appetite for listed alternatives.
