When Wonderla Holidays, India’s largest amusement park chain, went public nearly a decade ago, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) were a rarity on Dalal Street. Fast forward to today, Managing Director and Executive Chairman, Arun Chittilappilly says the landscape has transformed - India’s primary market is now teeming with new listings.
“When Wonderla listed, we were the only IPO that happened in 2014 till May that year. It was such a rare thing to have an IPO,” Chittilappilly told Moneycontrol, reflecting on how dramatically things have changed.
According to him, the surge in IPO activity has been driven by a sharp rise in retail participation and easier access to trading platforms.
“Now there are far more retail investors, thanks to apps like Zerodha and others that make trading accessible. The whole market has expanded, and with that, the IPO space has exploded. Plus, the economy is growing - it’s a completely different market today,” he said.
India's IPO boom
Analysts echo his view. They point out that Indian households are increasingly channeling savings into equities, fuelling the IPO boom. So far in 2025, over 300 listings have raised nearly $16 billion, making India the world’s fourth-busiest IPO venue, according to Bloomberg data.
However, Chittilappilly said that there were more serious investors 10 years back. "Now, everybody is an investor."
The MD also pointed to the debate on raising funds via IPO or through private equity when Wonderla was in need of funds in 2014 to expand.
"We wanted to raise money for our new projects. We listed in 2014 and the money that we raised was used for Hyderabad amusement park mostly. We could have done private equity in India at that time. But for everyone, the end game is always getting listed on the exchanges. So, it was between private equity and listing," Chittilappilly said.
He added that they chose listing as they had another listed company --- V-Guard Industries Ltd that was started by Arun Chittilappilly's father Kochouseph Chittilappilly.
"We knew the method. It is a more elaborate process to go through listings. But because we had already done it in the group, we thought this is just a better way to go. Also, the advantage of a listing is that you do not have to give exit to another investor. So, for us listing made more sense," he said.
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