Gaja Alternative Asset Management’s ₹450-Crore IPO Push, Gopal Jain Reveals Fund Expansion Roadmap

As Gaja Alternative Asset Management prepares for its stock market debut, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Gopal Jain speaks to Manoj Yadav, Business Editor (Digital), about the company’s IPO and expansion plans. He explains how the Rs 450-crore fresh issue will support new funds, outlines the firm’s growth strategy and financial performance, and discusses valuation disclosures, industry risks and fundraising cycles. Jain also clarifies the purpose of the Rs 100-crore offer-for-sale component and future business priorities.

How will the company utilise the Rs 450 crore raised through the fresh issue, and which business areas will receive priority?

The primary capital will be used to build out the alternatives platform as detailed in the RHP through a) scaling the flagship strategy and b) launching a new strategy – Eastgate secondaries. The primary proceeds will principally fund our sponsor commitments to the two vehicles we are currently raising: Rs 210 crore towards Gaja Capital Fund V, our fifth flagship growth and buyout fund, proposed at Rs 2,500 crore, and Rs 105 crore towards the Eastgate Secondaries Fund, proposed at Rs 1,250 crore. It also reflects a principle we have always operated by which is making a commitment higher than the minimum prescribed by regulation. SEBI requires a sponsor to commit the lower of 2.5 percent of a fund's corpus or Rs 5 crore; we have committed approximately Rs 274 crore across our funds, about 6.41 percent of total fund size. The fresh issue allows us to sustain that alignment as the platform grows.

What are Gaja Alternative Asset Management’s current assets under management, and what growth target has been set for the next three to five years?

Gaja Capital is the investment manager to India-focused Category II AIFs and an advisor to offshore funds. Each successive flagship fund has been larger than the last: Fund II at Rs 902.4 crore, Fund III at Rs 1,598 crore and Fund IV at Rs 1,775 crore. Across our funds, we have delivered a 3.3x average multiple on invested capital, with funds rated first quartile where independent benchmarking is available. As the RHP itself notes, past performance is not a guide to future returns.

On what comes next and as disclosed in the RHP, Fund V is proposed at Rs 2,500 crore, with the PPM submitted to SEBI in June 2026 and; the Eastgate Secondaries Fund is proposed at Rs 1,250 crore, with SEBI approval of the PPM received. On completion, our income-generating capital would move from approximately Rs 3,500 crore to approximately Rs 7,250 crore. As an issuer in the offer period, I cannot go beyond that with forward-looking targets, though I would note that Gaja is not an AUM-maximisation business; enterprise value here is driven by growth in fee paying committed capital, IRR generated for investors in the funds, MOIC on the funds managed and cost of raising capital for the funds raised. For industry context, the industry report reproduced in the RHP expects alternatives AUM in India to grow at a CAGR of 25 to 27 percent, to Rs 41 to 44 trillion, by March 2030.

What valuation does the IPO price band of Rs 152–160 imply, and how does the management justify it compared with listed peers?

You will appreciate that as an issuer in the offer period we cannot comment on valuation or pricing beyond what is disclosed; the basis for the offer price is set out in detail in the RHP, and I would direct investors there. What I can speak to are the disclosed fundamentals of the business. In FY26, total income was Rs 1,577.97 million, a CAGR of 23.20 percent over FY24 to FY26; profit after tax was Rs 819.59 million, a CAGR of 35.34 percent, with a PAT margin of 51.94 percent; and net worth stood at Rs 6,065.15 million. The company is profitable and dividend-paying, with three revenue streams, namely management fees, carried interest and returns on our sponsor commitment, and with 100 percent of fund economics accruing to the AMC. As India's first mainstream private equity AMC to list on the Indian stock exchanges, we would simply encourage investors to evaluate the business on these disclosures, and to read the RHP in full before forming a view.

What are the major risks facing the company, including fundraising cycles, investment exits, market volatility and dependence on management fees?

The risk factors are set out candidly in the RHP, and I would encourage every investor to read them. Ours is a cyclical industry: fundraising and exits are influenced by broader capital-market conditions, and periods of global risk aversion can slow commitments, particularly from overseas investors. Our revenues include management fees, which are linked to fundraising cycles, and carried interest, which depends on the timing and outcome of exits.

How will the Rs 100 crore offer-for-sale component benefit the company, and why have the existing shareholders decided to reduce their stakes at this stage?

The OFS proceeds accrue to the sellers not to the company. The offer for sale is a minor portion of the total IPO, at less than five percent of the post IPO shareholding of the Company. It helps broaden the shareholder base, while ownership remains predominantly with the leadership team that manages the funds. GAAML is a 27 year old entity and some of the sellers have owned their shares for over 20 years.