In this new series, we look at the deals shaping India’s business landscape. Each month, will break down the key transactions, explore the rationale behind them, and unpack what they signal for business owners, investors, and potential acquirers.
September was one of the busiest months of the year. Here’s a look at the deals that made headlines this month and what we think it tells us.
September in 60 seconds
- Startup funding: about $1.17 billion across 45 rounds with disclosed amounts. Entrackr also puts the month above $1 billion.
- Biggest fundraise: Adani Airport Holdings, about $1 billion in fresh equity. Among startups, Simple Energy raised ₹1,750 crore.
- Biggest acquisition: Solar Industries agreed to buy South Africa’s Omnia Holdings for $1.36 billion in cash.
- IPOs: 34 companies raised about ₹39,380 crore. NSE alone accounted for ₹22,563 crore.
- Best and worst debuts: ESDS Software listed 76% above its issue price and Moneyview 62% above. Snapdeal’s parent AceVector listed 11.5% below.
- Investors cashing out: VC and PE funds sold about ₹9,300 crore of stock through nine block deals in listed companies like Groww, Lenskart, Meesho and Pine Labs.
Top highlights of the month:
| Deal | Type | Size | |
| 1 | NSE IPO | Exit (IPO, 100% offer for sale) | ₹22,563 Cr |
| 2 | Solar Industries buys Omnia Holdings | Outbound acquisition | ₹12,951 Cr ($1.36B) |
| 3 | Adani Airport Holdings | Fundraise | ₹9,825 Cr (~$1B) |
| 4 | Brookfield invests in ACME green hydrogen platform | PE investment | Up to $600M |
| 5 | Alpha Alternatives buys 51% of Mekhali Power Transmission | Acquisition | ₹2,914 Cr enterprise value |
| 6 | Purvah Green Power to buy Welspun New Energy | Acquisition (reported) | ~₹2,500 Cr enterprise value |
| 7 | Lenskart block deal | Investor exit | ₹2,468 Cr |
| 8 | Elevate Campuses IPO | IPO | ₹2,100 Cr |
| 9 | Bharat Forge QIP | Fundraise | ₹2,000 Cr |
| 10 | upGrad acquires Unacademy | Startup acquisition | ~$200M (all stock) |
Three signals we would watch
1. Growth capital is going to EVs and clean energy. Simple Energy, Ultraviolette and Yuma Energy raised about $300 million between them. Brookfield’s ACME commitment, the Welspun New Energy deal and Inox Green’s QIP all point the same way. If you run a business that supplies this ecosystem (components, charging, recycling, services), buyers and investors are actively looking.
2. Early investors are getting their money out. Peak XV, Accel, RPS Ventures, Alpha Wave and others sold stakes in listed new-age companies through block deals, and Rentomojo’s and Moneyview’s IPOs let VCs sell through the offer for sale. That cash usually comes back into new deals within a year or two.
3. Indian companies are buying, at home and abroad. Solar Industries’ Omnia deal and Tata Motors’ Iveco offer show Indian groups paying cash for global assets. At home, ITC bought out Yoga Bar, and upGrad–Unacademy and Udaan–Lynk show startups consolidating. For promoters, that means more serious strategic buyers in the market.
Big-ticket corporate and PE fundraises
The largest cheque of the month went to Adani Airport Holdings, which is raising ₹9,825 crore (about $1 billion) in primary equity from Alpha Wave Global, Premji Invest, Temasek and BlackRock-managed funds. The money comes in three tranches, with the last one expected by July 2027. A week later, Brookfield agreed to put up to $600 million into ACME’s green hydrogen and ammonia platform.
Listed companies used QIPs to raise money from institutions. Bharat Forge raised ₹2,000 crore at ₹1,890 per share. CP Plus maker Aditya Infotech raised about ₹1,500 crore, Neogen Chemicals launched a QIP of up to ₹600 crore, and Inox Green Energy Services allotted shares worth ₹300 crore.
The Ola Electric board approved a rights issue of up to ₹1,000 crore towards the end of the month. Separately, Canada’s La Caisse bought a 24% stake in Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust for about ₹12,100 crore. That looks like a purchase of existing units, though, so it doesn’t count as new capital for the trust.
What it signals: Global long-term money (sovereign funds, pension funds, Brookfield) is willing to write very large cheques for Indian infrastructure and energy. Listed mid-caps are also finding it easy to raise money through QIPs, often to fund expansion or acquisitions.
Startup funding: growth-stage deals
Eighteen growth-stage startups together raised about $973 million in September. EV maker Simple Energy topped the list with a ₹1,750 crore Series C, followed by spacetech firm Pixxel and Slice Small Finance Bank at $100 million each.
| Startup | Sector | Amount | Round | Lead investor(s) | Date |
| Simple Energy | EV two-wheelers | ₹1,750 Cr (~$180M) | Series C | Dr Arokiaswamy Velumani Family Office | 30 Sep |
| Pixxel | Spacetech | $100M | Series C | Temasek, Seraphim Space | 7 Sep |
| Slice Small Finance Bank | Banking | ~$100M (reported) | Primary + secondary | Neo Wealth, Kado Global, Moore Strategic | 7 Sep |
| Ultraviolette | EV motorcycles | $85M | Series E | Yali Capital, TDK Ventures | 23 Sep |
| Ema | Enterprise AI | $77M | Series B | Creaegis | 24 Sep |
| Ultrahuman | Health wearables | $70M | — | Qualcomm Ventures, Labcorp, Alpha Wave | 3 Sep |
| Popo Global (The Pizza Bakery) | Restaurants | ₹532 Cr (~$56M) | Strategic | Artal Asia (Invus Group) | 11 Sep |
| Nua | Women’s wellness | $50M | Series C | Peak XV, Filter Capital | 7 Sep |
| HerSpace Manufacturing | Worker housing | $40M (commitment) | — | Gray Matters Capital | Sep 7–12 |
| Flam | AI content | $40M | Series B | QED Investors | 15 Sep |
| Yuma Energy | Battery swapping | $35M | Series A | Magna International | 1 Sep |
| Greenwave Circularity | Recycling | €27M (~$31.5M) | Debt | OeEB (Development Bank of Austria) | Sep 7–12 |
| Swish | Quick food delivery | $24M | — | Bertelsmann India Investments | 10 Sep |
| QNu Labs | Quantum security | ₹200 Cr (~$21M) | Series A1 | National Quantum Mission, Speciale Invest | 9 Sep |
| Mokobara | Luggage | ₹170 Cr (~$18M) | Series C | Sauce.vc | 5 Sep |
| SUGAR Cosmetics | Beauty | $15.3M | — | A91 Partners | 4 Sep |
| Gravity | Home interiors | $15M | Equity + debt | 3one4 Capital, Info Edge Ventures | 30 Sep |
| Piston | Fintech | $15M | Series A | FPV Ventures | Sep 7–12 |
HR-tech unicorn Darwinbox also got a follow-on investment from Teachers’ Venture Growth on 15 September, but the amount wasn’t disclosed.
Startup funding: early-stage deals
Twenty-seven early-stage startups raised about $192 million between them. AI patient-safety firm Graph AI led this group with $13.3 million from Insight Partners, followed by smart-crib maker Cradlewise at $12 million and VLCC at $11.5 million.
| Startup | Sector | Amount | Round | Lead investor(s) | Date |
| Graph AI | AI patient safety | $13.3M | Series A | Insight Partners | 10 Sep |
| Cradlewise | Smart baby cribs | $12M | Series A | 3one4 Capital, Prudent | 2 Sep |
| VLCC | Beauty & wellness | $11.5M | – | BlackSoil Capital | Sep 1–5 |
| Comet | Sneakers | $10.6M | Series B | Verlinvest | 4 Sep |
| Rivet | Social networking | $10.5M | Seed | Peak XV | 25 Sep |
| Arovia Consumer | Consumer brands | ₹100 Cr (commitment) | — | Fireside Ventures | 28 Sep |
| Balwaan Krishi | Agri machinery | ₹100 Cr (~$10.4M) | Series B | First Bridge India Growth Fund | 29 Sep |
| Arivihan | Edtech | $10.2M | Series A | Accel, Prosus | 30 Sep |
| Carrum Mobility | Electric fleets | $10M | Series B | Uber | 9 Sep |
| Kepler Aerospace | Spacetech | $8M | Seed | Blue Ashva Capital | Sep 1–4 |
| Theater | Fashion | ₹75 Cr (~$7.8M) | Series A | Niveshaay | 10 Sep |
| Dextr AI | AI | $6.7M | Seed | Elevation Capital | 25 Sep |
| GalaxEye | Spacetech | $6.7M | — | RDI Fund | 25 Sep |
| DheyaTech | Drones | ₹43 Cr (~$5.1M) | Pre-Series A | Avaana Capital | 17 Sep |
| VerifAIX | Semiconductors | $5M | Seed | Endiya Partners, Bluehill VC | 16 Sep |
| Bharat Housing Network | Housing | $5M | — | — | 29 Sep |
| Jaipur Robotics | Robotics | $4.9M | Seed | EquityPitcher Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds | Sep 7–12 |
| Drivn | Electric CVs | ₹45 Cr (~$4.7M) | Seed | Avaana Capital | Sep 21–26 |
| Aeron Systems | Defence tech | $4.7M | Pre-Series B | Riverwalk Holdings, MGF-Kavachh | 2 Sep |
| Disha | AI health coaching | ₹43.9 Cr | Series A | General Catalyst | Sep 21–26 |
| Jagdish Farshan | Packaged snacks | $4.55M | Series A | Sharrp Ventures | Sep 1–5 |
| Fundly.ai | B2B pharma distribution | ~$4.5M | Pre-Series A | Accel, Multiply Ventures | 8 Sep |
| Rio Health | Medicine delivery | ₹43 Cr (~$4.5M) | Pre-Series A | Version One Ventures | 24 Sep |
| Circolife | Cooling-as-a-service | $4.5M | Pre-Series A | Bharat Jaisinghani | 8 Sep |
| Navana.ai | Voice AI | $4.2M | Series A | Ronnie Screwvala | 7 Sep |
| Sol Foundry | AI | $4M | — | General Catalyst, Nexus (participants) | 22 Sep |
| Zenergize | Cleantech | $4M | Pre-Series A | Giraffe Studios | 1 Sep |
TrueFan AI (Bajaj Finserv), Keploy (Flipkart Ventures) and SpeakX (MS Dhoni) also raised money during the month, but didn’t share the amounts.
What it signals: early-stage rounds are smaller and more selective than in past years, but deeptech (drones, defence, semiconductors, space, robotics) is getting a steady flow of seed and Series A money. Several of these rounds were led by family offices and individual investors, not just VC funds.
Where the startup money went?
Electric two-wheelers carried the month. Simple Energy and Ultraviolette alone raised about $265 million, and battery-swapping, recycling and cooling startups added more. Consumer brands closed the most rounds, but they were mostly smaller cheques. Spacetech had a strong month too, with Pixxel, Kepler Aerospace and GalaxEye all raising money.
Mergers and acquisitions: who bought what
September had one billion-dollar acquisition and about ten deals above $50 million. Most of the action was mid-sized: family-run and listed Indian companies buying capacity, brands or a foothold in a new segment. We’ve grouped the deals by who the buyer was, because that tells you more than the deal size alone.
Indian companies buying abroad
| Buyer | Target | Sector | Value | Stake |
| Solar Industries | Omnia Holdings (South Africa) | Explosives & chemicals | ₹12,951 Cr ($1.36B), cash | 100% |
| Dr Lal PathLabs | Sunshine Healthcare (Ghana) | Diagnostics | ₹38 Cr | 80% |
| HCLSoftware | Robotiq.ai (Croatia) | Automation software | €9M | 100% |
| Kiri Industries | Makilala Mining | Mining | ~$5M | 40% |
| Lenra AI | Data Harbor (Israel) | AI & data | Undisclosed | — |
Strategic buyers at home
| Buyer | Target | Sector | Value | Stake |
| Purvah Green Power (RPSG Group) | Welspun New Energy | Renewables | ~₹2,500 Cr EV (reported) | — |
| Nexus Select Trust | Galaxy Infra Creations (Guwahati mall + hotel) | Real estate | ₹1,600 Cr | 100% |
| Novartis India | Minipress trademarks (from Pfizer) | Pharma brands | ₹1,250 Cr | Brand assets |
| Indiabulls Enterprises | Fintech Cloud | Fintech | ₹1,050 Cr | 70% |
| ITC | Sproutlife Foods (Yoga Bar) | FMCG | ₹645 Cr | Remaining 52.5% |
| Samvardhana Motherson | Rotary Connectors | Auto components | ₹500 Cr EV | 50.1% |
| Juniper Hotels | Novotel Imagicaa, Khopoli | Hospitality | ₹248 Cr | Asset |
| Dr Lal PathLabs | SN Genelab (Gujarat) | Diagnostics | Up to ₹168 Cr | 70% |
| Trovera Healthcare | Nueclear Healthcare (from Thyrocare) | Radiology | ₹141 Cr | 100% |
| RPG Life Sciences | Raghava Life Sciences’ API business | Pharma | Up to ₹135 Cr | Business |
| Anarock | DSP Design Associates | Architecture | Undisclosed | 51% |
| Arisinfra Solutions | Buildmex-Infra | Construction materials | ₹60 Cr | +16% (to 92%) |
| Apollo Pipes | Mazzini Tiles (Morbi) | Building materials | ₹40 Cr | 76% |
| Cyrix Healthcare | Blue Star’s MedTech Solutions business | Medtech | Undisclosed | Business |
| KPI Green Energy | DMGEL | Renewables | Undisclosed | 62.91% |
| Sanmar Group | AltEons Energy | Renewables | Undisclosed | Majority |
| Fredun Pharmaceuticals | Furlicks | Pet care | Undisclosed | — |
| Prataap Snacks | RLOP Food Processing | Food | ~$1.6M | 100% |
Private equity buyouts
| Buyer | Target | Sector | Value | Stake |
| Alpha Alternatives | Mekhali Power Transmission (from Dilip Buildcon) | Power transmission | ₹2,914 Cr EV | 51% |
| KKR / Cisternina | Ganesh Benzoplast’s port liquid terminals | Logistics | ₹1,154 Cr (assets) | KKR majority |
| Samara Capital | Associated Road Carriers + Calyx Container Terminals | Logistics | ~$120M | — |
| Biodeal Pharmaceuticals | Biological E’s Paonta Sahib injectables plant | Pharma | ~$47M (reported) | Asset |
Startups buying startups
| Buyer | Target | Sector | Value |
| upGrad | Unacademy | Edtech | ~$200M, all stock |
| Udaan | Lynk Logistics (from Swiggy) | B2B distribution | ₹500 Cr share swap |
| Niyo | RemitX forex business | Fintech | ₹11.4 Cr |
| Lenskart | Dimension NXG (AjnaLens), stake raised to over 9% | XR hardware | ₹8 Cr |
| PB Fintech | MyLoanCare, remaining 20% | Fintech | ₹5 Cr |
| Nykaa | Earth Rhythm, +24.2% | Beauty | ~$1M |
| Adobe | Rilo (acqui-hire) | AI martech | Undisclosed |
| Unstop | PerspectAI | HR tech | Undisclosed |
| Manupatra | LawSutra AI | Legal tech | Undisclosed |
| Zigly | Prolife Speciality Vet Clinic | Pet care | Undisclosed |
| MulticoreWare | Simulus Automation | Semiconductor design | Undisclosed |
Bigger deals that moved forward in September
- Tata Motors–Iveco: Tata Motors launched its all-cash tender offer of about €3.8 billion on 5 September. The acceptance window runs until 26 October.
- Rajasthan Royals: The Mittal family and Adar Poonawalla got CCI approval for their $1.65 billion purchase.
- L’Oréal–Innovist: L’Oréal India got CCI approval to buy Innovist’s parent, Onesto Labs.
- Apollo Micro Systems–Premier Explosives: CCI clearance for the ₹1,550 crore stake purchase triggers an open offer.
- InsuranceDekho–RenewBuy: the merger was completed.
- IDBI Bank: the government is evaluating financial bids from Fairfax and Emirates NBD for its 60.72% stake.
What it signals: strategic buyers paid for capability rather than size. That means brands with loyal customers (Yoga Bar, Minipress), capacity in growing sectors (renewables, diagnostics, logistics) and ready-made teams (Rilo, LawSutra). A profitable niche business with clean books is attractive to this kind of buyer.
IPO scorecard: How did September’s listings do?
Thirty-four IPOs raised about ₹39,380 crore in September, even with a weak market for part of the month. NSE’s listing was the headline event, but the more useful signal for business owners is how mid-sized companies did. Most of them listed above their issue price.
| Company | Issue size | Listed | Issue → listing price | Day-one move | Who sold shares |
| NSE | ₹22,563 Cr | 24 Sep | ₹1,785 → ₹1,800 | +0.8% | SBI, CPP Investments, Temasek’s Aranda and 20 others |
| Elevate Campuses | ₹2,100 Cr | 30 Sep | ₹362 → ₹355 | −1.9% | None (all fresh issue) |
| Rentomojo | ₹1,256 Cr | 17 Sep | ₹404 → ₹482 | +19.4% | Accel, IDG Ventures, Chiratae, Edelweiss and others |
| Varmora Granito | ₹1,096 Cr | 29 Sep | ₹148 → ₹155 | +4.7% | — |
| Moneyview | ₹1,092 Cr | 1 Oct | ₹34 → ₹55 | +61.8% | Tiger Global, Accel, Ribbit Capital and others |
| Kanohar Electricals | ₹1,056 Cr | 16 Sep | ₹632 → ₹686 | +8.5% | — |
| Hero Motors | ₹1,000 Cr | 23 Sep | ₹84 → ₹82 | −2.4% | — |
| Karamtara Engineering | ₹875 Cr | 17 Sep | ₹254 → ₹320 | +26.0% | Promoters |
| Manipal Payment & Identity | ₹805 Cr | 17 Sep | ₹339 → ₹330 | −2.7% | Promoter |
| ARCIL | ₹733 Cr | 17 Sep | ₹139 → ₹139 | 0% | Avenue Capital fund, SBI, Federal Bank |
| ESDS Software | ₹720 Cr | ~4 Sep | ₹429 → ₹757 | +76.5% | — |
| Purple Style Labs | ₹680 Cr | 7 Sep | ₹575 → ₹535 | −7.0% | None (all fresh issue) |
| SS Retail | ₹500 Cr | 23 Sep | ₹424 → ₹624 | +47.2% | — |
| AceVector (Snapdeal) | ₹420 Cr | 5 Oct | ₹32 → ₹28 | −11.5% | SoftBank, Nexus, Foxconn |
Moneyview and AceVector took bids in September but listed in early October. We’ve included them because the fundraise happened in September.
What it signals: Public markets are taking in mid-sized companies at sensible prices, and VCs are using IPOs to exit. For a growing, profitable company, an IPO is now a real option to weigh alongside a strategic sale.
Who cashed out: block deals and PE/VC exits
Outside the IPO market, funds sold about ₹9,300 crore of stock through nine block deals. Most of these were in companies that listed in the past year or two, so this is the early backers taking money off the table. Large institutions like GIC, Norges Bank, Fidelity and SBI Life were on the buying side.
| Company | Seller | Stake sold | Size | Buyers | Date |
| Lenskart | Not confirmed (reports point to an ADIA vehicle) | 2.07% | ₹2,468 Cr | Undisclosed | 21 Sep |
| Groww | Peak XV Partners | 1.46% | ₹1,756 Cr | Undisclosed | 16 Sep |
| Sedemac Mechatronics | A91 Partners, Xponentia Capital | — | ₹1,469 Cr | GIC, MAS, SBI MF, ICICI Pru MF, T. Rowe Price | 24 Sep |
| Meesho | RPS Ventures | 0.9% | ₹900 Cr | Norges Bank, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs | ~23 Sep |
| Pine Labs | Mastercard (full exit) | 4.31% | Up to ₹893 Cr | Undisclosed | 22 Sep |
| Pine Labs | Alpha Wave (near-full exit) | 3.11% | ~₹550 Cr | — | ~2 Sep |
| BlueStone Jewellery | Accel, 360 ONE | 4.07% | ₹513 Cr | SBI Life, Kuwait Investment Authority | ~25 Sep |
| Nephrocare Health | Edoras Investment Holdings | — | ₹415 Cr | Polar Capital | ~24 Sep |
| FirstCry (Brainbees) | NewQuest Asia | — | ₹321 Cr | Goldman Sachs | ~24 Sep |
In the unlisted market, Tata Capital Healthcare Fund II fully exited Linux Laboratories at about 4x when ChrysCapital came in as part of a $70 million round. A PE fund selling to another PE fund is a common exit route for mid-market companies.
What it signals: There are buyers for good assets at every stage. For promoters with PE or VC investors on the cap table, it helps to know that your investors have more than one way out. That makes it easier to agree on a timeline.
Coming up: IPO filings and approvals
The pipeline is still full. According to IPOPlatform, 52 mainboard companies filed draft papers in September. These are the ones worth tracking:
| Company | What happened | Date | Planned size |
| Inox Clean Energy | Filed DRHP | 29 Sep | ₹10,000 Cr (₹8,000 Cr fresh + ₹2,000 Cr OFS) |
| Fibe | SEBI approval | 15 Sep | ₹750 Cr fresh + OFS by TPG Rise, Norwest, Eight Roads |
| Torrent Gas | Updated DRHP | 8 Sep | 33.5 Cr shares, all OFS |
| Vishakha Renewables | Filed DRHP | 30 Sep | ₹1,250 Cr |
| Royal Chain | Filed DRHP | 28 Sep | ₹1,000 Cr |
| Inox Air Products | Filed DRHP | 30 Sep | 7.71 Cr shares, all OFS |
| EverBrands (Subway India) | Filed DRHP | 29 Sep | ₹600 Cr fresh |
| Technopaints | Filed DRHP | 29 Sep | ₹500 Cr |
| Abakkus Asset Manager | Filed DRHP | ~22 Sep | 1.5 Cr shares, all OFS |
Jio Platforms, Zepto, OYO and Zetwerk already have approvals or filings from earlier months and could come to market in the next few quarters.
What this means if you own or invest in a business
- If you’re a promoter thinking of selling: Strategic buyers are active and paying in cash, especially in renewables, healthcare, logistics, consumer brands and building materials. Buyers in September paid for things they couldn’t easily build themselves: a brand, a licence, a plant, a team.
- If you’re raising growth capital: Money is available, but it’s going to a few themes and to businesses with clear unit economics. EV and clean energy, deeptech and consumer brands with repeat customers got most of the cheques.
- If you’re an HNI or family office investing directly: Block deals and pre-IPO rounds let you get in alongside institutions. A rising number of mid-sized IPOs also means more exit routes for the private stakes you hold.
- If you’re buying a business: Consolidation is picking up in edtech, B2B distribution, diagnostics and D2C. Smaller players in these spaces may be open to a sale or a merger before the next funding round.
The month against the bigger picture
| Measure | Figure | Source |
| Startup funding, September 2026 | Above $1 billion | Entrackr Q3 report |
| Startup funding, Q3 2026 | ~$2.9 billion | Entrackr |
| Tech funding, January–September 2026 | $10.3 billion; six new unicorns | Tracxn via YourStory |
| M&A, Q3 2026 | 255 deals worth $13.2 billion | Grant Thornton Bharat via Business Standard |
| PE-VC investment, Q3 2026 | Up 77% to over $14 billion | Deccan Herald |
| IPO fundraising, September 2026 | 34 IPOs, ~₹39,380 crore | Business Today |
How we put this together
This ledger covers deals announced or completed in India between 1 and 30 September 2026. Every company name links to the report we took the details from, so you can check the numbers and read more. Amounts are shown as reported. Where we converted rupees to dollars, we used about ₹95 to the dollar, the rate the sources themselves imply.
Different trackers count deals differently, so our totals won’t always match theirs exactly. We left out deals by companies headquartered outside India, such as US-based SiMa.ai’s $150 million round. We also left out talks that hadn’t turned into signed deals by month-end. If we’ve missed a deal or got a detail wrong, write to us and we’ll update the ledger.
India’s latest funding rounds, IPOs, investor exits, and acquisitions reflect a market full of evolving opportunities. Understanding where your business fits into this landscape is the first step towards making informed financial decisions.
Next edition: October 2026, published in the first half of November.
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