India’s primary market is set to witness a significant influx of healthcare IPOs in 2026, with public issues from hospitals, IVF chains and healthcare services expected to raise around Rs 20,000 crore next year, ET has reported.
This anticipated wave reflects deepening investor interest, stronger fundamentals across healthcare delivery businesses and an organised market eager to tap long-term growth stories. Manipal Hospitals, Kauvery Hospital, Asia Healthcare Holdings, Indira IVF, Cloudnine, Paras Hospitals, Yashoda Hospitals are some of those who are headed to the market or are planning to, though these hospitals did not confirm, the report says.
Also Read: Hospitals, IVF chains fuel surge in healthcare IPOs worth Rs 20,000 crore
What is driving this rush of hospitals and allied healthcare companies toward public markets? A mix of structural, financial, demographic and policy factors has created an environment where tapping public capital is desirable and perhaps also necessary for scaling effectively.Fundamentals plus valuations
One of the most immediate drivers encouraging healthcare firms to go public is the combination of improving financial performance and favourable valuations.. Investment bankers say that hospital chains and niche healthcare platforms are demonstrating steady volume growth, margin expansion and clearer earnings visibility, making them more attractive to a broader class of investors.
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This dynamic is reflected in how recent healthcare IPOs are being positioned. For example, Park Medi World is using part of its IPO proceeds to reduce debt and fund capacity expansion, highlighting how access to public equity can meaningfully support both balance sheet strengthening and strategic growth. Similarly, the Nephrocare Health Services IPO underscores strong underlying demand for organised specialty services such as dialysis care, even as investors weigh risks and potential valuation outcomes.
Recurring investor interest in healthcare IPOs also reinforces the belief that market conditions remain conducive to raising capital.Underpenetration and growth tailwinds
A crucial reason so many healthcare companies are lining up for listings is India’s persistent under-penetration of healthcare services relative to peer economies. As per the ET report, India’s healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP remains low (about 3% in 2023), hospital bed availability per capita lags behind countries like Malaysia and Thailand, and insurance penetration is still expanding, all indicating a long runway for demand growth.
These foundational gaps mean that larger organised players can expand into underserved regions and specialities, including IVF and maternity care chains (for example, Cloudnine and Indira IVF), which are now estimated to command enough scale and promise to justify public listings.
The broader sector’s growth potential also extends beyond traditional hospital metrics. Medical tourism, bolstered by significantly lower procedure costs compared to Western countries, and demographic shifts toward higher incidence of chronic and lifestyle diseases, contribute to expanding addressable markets, the factors hospitals are keen to capitalise on via public capital.
The private equity angle
The interplay between private equity investment and public markets has become particularly significant. Over the past few years, hospitals and speciality healthcare service providers attracted large PE investments, evident in deals like Temasek’s backing of Manipal and BPEA EQT in Indira IVF, fueling both consolidation and preparation for IPOs.
This trend has a two-fold effect. First, PE investors often seek partial exits via IPOs, enabling them to realise returns while maintaining a stake for future growth. Second, public listings provide promoters with fresh capital to expand capacity, acquire other assets and deleverage. The dual availability of fresh issue capital and Offer for Sale (OFS) options makes the IPO route attractive for both liquidity and growth funding.
Financial markets have also evolved to accommodate these strategies more seamlessly. The current pipeline for 2026 shows that many companies across sectors are planning large IPOs, indicating that promoters view public markets as a reliable long-term source for capital, not just a one-time liquidity event.
The niche play
Beyond general multispecialty hospitals, specialty healthcare platforms are emerging as key contributors to the IPO pipeline. Nephrocare’s dialysis network, for example, has rapidly scaled to serve a significant portion of the kidney care market and is using public capital to expand clinics and modernise offerings.
Similarly, IVF and fertility service chains are gaining traction due to a combination of rising infertility rates and increasing acceptance of assisted reproductive technologies. These specialised segments often operate with a different growth-profitability profile than general hospitals, allowing them to offer better growth stories to investors and justify valuations. The broader trend toward focused, single or limited specialty care services is also evident, showing demand for capabilities ranging from oncology to cardiology in smaller, tier-2 and tier-3 markets.
Despite underlying strengths, the IPO surge is not without risks. Some recent healthcare IPOs have seen muted grey-market premiums or subdued subscription compared with earlier expectations, indicating that investor enthusiasm is tempered by valuation factor and macro uncertainty. There is also a broader dynamic where short-term listing gains are seen as less guaranteed than in past cycles, pushing companies to emphasise long-term fundamentals over quick returns.
The policy push and sectoral shifts
While India’s public healthcare system continues to grapple with capacity constraints, government-supported initiatives like PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat) are improving access to care, indirectly boosting demand for private sector support and investment.
Public-private partnerships that expand bed capacity and enhance infrastructure indicate a broader recognition that India’s healthcare ecosystem requires multi-stakeholder collaboration. This deeper integration broadens the potential patient base for private providers and underlines the scale of unmet demand. When private hospitals can leverage public insurance schemes and PPP networks, operational growth can accelerate and make IPO prospects more compelling.
The wave of hospital and healthcare IPOs set for the next year points at a structural shift in India’s healthcare economy from fragmented to scalable and organised enterprises that public markets can meaningfully support. A mix of strong fundamentals, private capital-driven expansion and underlying demand growth has encouraged healthcare companies to pursue public listings not just as exits, but as strategic growth avenues.