India investment banking fees hit record $1.1 bn in 9M 2026, led by NSE IPO, LIC stake sale

India’s investment banking activities generated an estimated $1.1 billion in fees during the first nine months of 2026, up 1.8% year-on-year (YoY) and the highest year-to-date (YTD) fee total since records began in 2000, according to a latest report by LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group).

The fee pool was supported by a sharp acceleration in equity capital markets (ECM) activity in the third quarter, led by landmark transactions including the National Stock Exchange of India’s IPO and the government’s stake sale in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), as per LSEG’s India Investment Banking Review for first 9M 2026.

India’s equity capital markets raised $40.3 billion during the first nine months of 2026, with follow-on issuance accounting for more than two-thirds of total ECM proceeds. The NSE IPO helped lift IPO proceeds to one of the strongest YTD totals on record, the report noted.

“ECM activity accelerated significantly in the third quarter and was driven by a number of landmark transactions, most notably the National Stock Exchange of India IPO, which helped lift IPO proceeds to one of the strongest year-to-date totals on record,” said Elaine Tan, Senior Manager at LSEG Deals Intelligence.

“Follow-on issuance accounted for more than two-thirds of total ECM proceeds, including the government's stake sale in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC),” she said.

Financials, Industrials, Healthcare and Materials led fundraising as companies continued to tap public markets to fund expansion, infrastructure investment and manufacturing growth.

“While issuance was more concentrated in a handful of large transactions, the strength of marquee IPOs and continued investor participation point to a healthy capital markets backdrop for Indian issuers,” Tan said.

M&A advisory fees jump 26% to $347.4 mn

Completed M&A advisory fees rose 26% YoY to $347.4 million during the first nine months, while syndicated lending fees increased 8% to $150.6 million, as per the report.

ECM underwriting fees, however, fell 9% YoY to $415.6 million, while debt capital market underwriting fees declined 12% to $181.5 million.

Citi topped India’s overall investment banking fee rankings, earning $73.8 million and accounting for a 6.7% share of the total fee pool. It also led the financial advisory rankings for announced India-involvement M&A, with a 28.6% market share.

India M&A activity rises 1.7%

India-involvement M&A activity reached $110.3 billion during the first nine months of 2026, up 1.7% YoY and the highest first-nine-month total since 2022, despite a 0.9% decline in the number of announced deals.

Deal-making was concentrated in several transformational transactions, led by Vedanta’s five-way demerger, including the $20.6-billion Vedanta Aluminium spin-off. The transaction propelled Materials to become the largest sector by deal value.

Other major transactions included Sun Pharma’s proposed $11.4-billion acquisition of Organon & Co, Power Finance Corporation’s $5-billion acquisition of REC, Bharti Airtel’s $2.7-billion acquisition of Airtel Africa and the $2.3-billion Vedanta Power demerger.

Materials led sector-wise M&A activity with $25.4 billion, more than four times the level recorded in the same period last year, accounting for 23% of total India-involvement M&A.

Healthcare followed with $16.7 billion, up 59.1% YoY and accounting for a 15.2% share, while Industrials recorded $15.2 billion, down 9.5% YoY.

Private equity-backed M&A in India stood at $15.5 billion, down 3.3% YoY.

Tan said the market also benefited from consolidation across infrastructure, financial services and healthcare, while transactions involving ports, airports and telecom reflected continued investor confidence in India’s long-term economic growth.

Outbound M&A hits highest since 2010

Target India M&A activity stood at $88.4 billion, down 2.8% YoY, while domestic M&A grew 2.8% to $64.9 billion.

Inbound M&A declined 15.4% to $23.5 billion, while outbound M&A rose 24.1% to $21 billion, marking its highest first-nine-month total since 2010.

The US was the largest foreign acquirer of Indian assets, accounting for 42.2% of inbound M&A activity. It was also the top overseas destination for Indian companies, accounting for 67.4% of outbound activity.

“Indian corporates continued to pursue assets overseas to expand market access, strengthen capabilities and diversify revenue streams, highlighted by Sun Pharma's proposed US$11.4 billion acquisition of Organon and Bharti Airtel's acquisition of Airtel Africa,” Tan said.