What the company does
Gaja manages and advises India-focused Category I and Category II AIFs and offshore funds, primarily in mid-market private equity. It earns management fees, carried interest and income on capital committed as fund sponsor.
Management fees are the most recurring stream, but represented 72.96%, 46.65% and 38.07% of total income in FY24, FY25 and FY26. FY26 carried interest was 47.79% and sponsor-investment income 10.61%, showing how exits and fund marks can dominate reported periods.
Management fees are generally fixed at 2% of external capital committed or invested and are calculated quarterly on opening capital. Carried interest is approximately 20% of net fund profits after the applicable preferred return, while sponsor-capital gains are recognised quarterly from fund fair values.
The company is raising capital for sponsor commitments to Fund IV constituents, proposed Fund V and a Secondaries Fund. Sponsor capital aligns interests and enables fundraising, but also places listed-company capital at risk in illiquid underlying investments.
As of 31 March 2026, Prior Investments were fully realised, Fund II was largely realised, Fund III was in its exit phase and Fund IV remained under deployment. Fund IV had made six investments and deployed 62.00% of capital, so its reported return measures are not directly comparable with mature vintages.
The platform employed 37 permanent and contractual personnel at FY26, including 23 permanent employees. Employee benefits were ₹35.12 crore, or 49.90% of total expenses, reflecting the people- and relationship-intensive nature of fundraising and investment management.
Where the IPO money goes
Three-year financial snapshot
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | PAT | Net worth | Borrowings | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY24 | ₹95.64 Cr | ₹49.25 Cr | ₹44.74 Cr | ₹331.88 Cr | ₹3.51 Cr | ₹388.6 Cr |
| FY25 | ₹122 Cr | ₹60.81 Cr | ₹61.95 Cr | ₹388.97 Cr | ₹4 Cr | ₹451.87 Cr |
| FY26 | ₹135.53 Cr | ₹72.05 Cr | ₹81.96 Cr | ₹606.52 Cr | ₹41.56 Cr | ₹706.49 Cr |
Restated financial information from IPO source materials; rounding may create small differences.
FY26 PAT margin
51.94%
PAT was ₹81.96 crore on total income of ₹157.80 crore; carried interest and sponsor income were material.
FY24–FY26 PAT CAGR
35.4%
PAT rose from ₹44.74 crore to ₹81.96 crore, but the income mix varied materially by year.
FY26 debt/equity
0.07×
Borrowings increased more than tenfold to ₹41.56 crore, largely in connection with sponsor funding.
FY26 management-fee share
38.07%
Carried interest contributed 47.79% and sponsor-investment income 10.61% of total income.
FY26 income-generating capital
₹3,161.78 crore
Down from ₹3,237.60 crore in FY25 and ₹3,265.93 crore in FY24; the management-fee yield was 1.90% versus 2.32% in FY24.
Contracted fund economics
~2% fee / ~20% carry
Management fees are generally 2% of external committed or invested capital; carry is approximately 20% of net profits after a preferred return.
FY26 operating cash flow
–₹14.98 Cr
Operating cash flow remained negative after negative ₹8.75 crore in FY25 despite strong reported PAT.
FY26 trade receivables
₹131.47 Cr
Receivables were 83.3% of FY26 total income and carried no impairment allowance; most were stated to mature within 0–60 days.
FY26 alternative-fund investments
₹271.93 Cr
Part of ₹360.11 crore of gross investments; the investment note also included ₹57.24 crore of mutual funds and smaller quoted, unquoted and CCPS positions.
Uncalled commitments at FY26
₹58.58 Cr
₹54.48 crore related to Gaja Capital India Fund 2021, ₹2.52 crore to the 2020 LLP and ₹1.58 crore to third-party funds.
Carried-interest receivable
₹2.64 Cr
Separately disclosed from ₹131.47 crore of trade receivables and ₹26.69 crore of advances recoverable in cash.
Fresh proceeds for sponsor commitments
82.7%
₹372 crore of the ₹450 crore fresh issue is allocated to Fund IV, proposed Fund V and the Secondaries Fund, including repayment of a ₹19.50 crore bridge loan.
Fund IV deployment
62.00%
Six investments had been made by 31 March 2026; the RHP reports 1.47× TVPI and 27.91% gross IRR, but labels the fund under deployment and unrealised.
Proposed Fund V size
₹2,500 Cr
The ₹210 crore planned sponsor commitment equals 8.4% of the board-approved proposed fund size; regulatory and third-party fundraising steps were still incomplete at the RHP date.
Fund IV top-ten LP share
63.42%
The ten largest LPs represented ₹1,092.87 crore of commitments; domestic top-ten LPs were 36.61% and overseas top-ten LPs 26.81%.
Limited-partner base
298 LPs
At FY26, 139 were located in India and 159 outside India, creating both fundraising reach and cross-border capital-call sensitivity.
FY26 employee attrition
13.33%
Three employees left during FY26, up from one and 4.76% in FY25; the RHP reports no attrition among KMP and senior management in FY24–FY26.
Employee-benefit share
49.90%
₹35.12 crore in FY26, up from 44.30% of total expenses in FY25 and 44.23% in FY24.
Outstanding ESOPs
15.61 lakh
The RHP shows 15,60,700 options in force, all unvested, with three-year vesting and exercise prices of ₹143.95 or ₹160; full exercise is roughly 1.1% of post-offer shares.
Largest disclosed ESOP grant
11.44 lakh
Dheeraj Prasad Devata received 11,43,500 FY26 options, about 73.3% of the options shown in force at the RHP date, concentrating a material part of the retention pool in one senior executive.
FY24 carried-interest reclassification
₹18.40 Cr
The restated accounts moved ₹18.395 crore of carried interest from other income to revenue from operations; total income and profit were unchanged, so the reclassification improves presentation but not economics.
New sponsor allocation / FY26 net worth
61.33%
The ₹372 crore earmarked for Fund IV, proposed Fund V and the Secondaries Fund equals 61.33% of FY26 net worth and is scheduled across FY27–FY29.
Fund exposure plus uncalled capital
54.49% of net worth
Derived from ₹271.93 crore of alternative-fund investments plus ₹58.58 crore of uncalled commitments against ₹606.52 crore FY26 net worth; the two balances represent invested and future funding exposure, not a single asset.
Fresh issue / FY26 net worth
74.19%
The ₹450 crore fresh issue is a large balance-sheet expansion relative to FY26 equity and should depress return ratios until capital is called, invested and produces fees, carry or realised gains.
Promoter-group holding across band
53.53%–54.23%
Derived from fixed rupee allocations: promoter-group ownership is approximately 53.53% at ₹152 and 54.23% at ₹160. Promoters alone retain approximately 46.37%–46.97%; the percentages rise with price because fewer fresh and OFS shares are issued.
Promoter-side OFS
₹59.35 Cr
Ranjit and Imran sell ₹49.35 crore and promoter-group member Sudesh Jain sells ₹10 crore. At the cap, this equals roughly 8.73%, 12.13% and 5.75% of their respective pre-offer positions.
OFS seller WACA range
Nil–₹20.58 per share
The RHP reports ₹0.10 for Ranjit, ₹7.28 for Imran, nil for Sudesh and Anshuman Goyal, ₹0.12 for Sanjay Patel, ₹11.66 for Abhinav Jain, ₹20.58 for Sushane Chopra and ₹0.10 for Suparna Kumar. These are historical seller-cost disclosures, not an operating valuation floor.
Promoter lock-in framework
20% for 18 months; excess for 6 months
The RHP applies the periods from allotment and also subjects the remaining pre-offer capital to a six-month lock-in, with specified regulatory exceptions. Exact promoter shares and dates are deferred to the final prospectus and depository records.
Anchor allocation
1,03,12,500 shares / ₹165.00 Cr
BSE notice 20260818-38 confirms allocation at ₹160 on 18 August. It equals 30.00% of the cap-price share count; public bidding is scheduled for 19–21 August.
Anchor lock-in
50% for 30 days / 50% for 90 days
The final RHP measures both periods from allotment. The 1,03,12,500-share total is odd, so the precise cohort split and calendar unlock dates should be taken from final allotment and lock-in filings.
BSE opening-day post-window snapshot
89,48,925 bids / 0.3533×
Official category book timestamped 5:00 p.m. IST on 19 August against 2,53,28,946 displayed shares: 6,39,282 QIB, 25,47,921 NII and 57,61,722 retail shares bid. The denominator uses the floor-price maximum; this remains preliminary because bidding continues through 21 August.
NSE latest pre-second-day display
1,27,24,353 bids / 0.5024×
Official current-issue endpoint rechecked at 7:08 a.m. IST on 20 August, before the second-day bidding window opened, against the same displayed share count. It was unchanged from the 19 August post-window display, is kept separate from BSE's category book and is not fresh second-day or final demand.
BSE issue-record recheck
No addendum or corrigendum
Official issue record 7895 rechecked at approximately 8:25 p.m. IST still showed 19–21 August bidding, ₹152–₹160, a 93-share minimum and blank addendum, corrigendum and remarks fields.
What stands out
- A two-decade operating history spans multiple fundraising, investment and exit cycles in Indian private equity.
- The platform combines management fees with participation in carry and sponsor returns, capturing more fund economics when investments perform.
- The operating company has historically carried little debt and generated high PAT margins relative to many diversified wealth managers.
- Fresh capital can satisfy sponsor commitments for new strategies, supporting future fee-paying capital and alignment with limited partners.
Key concerns
- Reported income is not predominantly recurring in every period. Carried interest and sponsor-investment gains depend on valuations, exits and distribution waterfalls.
- Income-generating capital declined from ₹3,265.93 crore in FY24 to ₹3,161.78 crore in FY26 even as PAT rose. The management-fee yield also moved from 2.32% to 1.90%, so recent earnings growth was driven more by carry and sponsor marks than by expansion of the recurring fee base.
- Sponsor-commitment income includes quarterly net gains from fair valuation using the respective fund's NAV methodology. FY25 sponsor income was nil primarily because of a fair-value loss; unrealised marks, realised distributions and cash exits should therefore be separated when assessing earnings quality.
- Fundraising is concentrated by vintage and strategy. Delay or failure in launching Fund V or the Secondaries Fund would reduce deployment of proceeds and future management-fee growth.
- Sponsor commitments expose shareholder capital to illiquid portfolio-company losses, delayed exits, currency effects and valuation uncertainty.
- Operating cash flow was negative ₹8.75 crore in FY25 and ₹14.98 crore in FY26 despite strong PAT. FY26 investing cash outflow was ₹108.73 crore while financing inflow was ₹151.62 crore, illustrating how sponsor investments can consume more cash than accounting earnings provide.
- Trade receivables were ₹131.47 crore at FY26, nearly unchanged from ₹131.88 crore in FY25 but more than double FY24. The accounts recorded no impairment allowance based on historical experience and forecasts; that judgment should be retested as carry, fee and fund-linked balances age.
- Other current financial assets included ₹26.69 crore of advances recoverable in cash, of which ₹8.22 crore related to pre-incorporation costs for a proposed AIF, plus ₹31.90 crore of financial assets held for trading. These balances make operating liquidity more complex than cash alone suggests.
- Existing uncalled capital commitments were ₹58.58 crore at 31 March 2026, before the larger issue-funded programme. At 30 June, total borrowings had risen to ₹60.70 crore and loan agreements contained consent and business-change covenants, although no FY24–FY26 breach was reported.
- As of FY26, Gaja had committed approximately ₹274 crore, or 6.41% of the Gaja Capital Funds and about 45% of operating-company net worth. The additional ₹372 crore sponsor allocation materially increases listed-shareholder exposure to illiquid fund assets.
- Borrowings rose to ₹41.56 crore in FY26 from ₹4.00 crore, and a further ₹19.50 crore bridge loan was drawn after year-end for Fund IV commitments. The offer intends to repay that bridge amount while funding additional commitments.
- The ₹100 crore OFS is being sold by eight shareholders. At the ₹160 cap, promoter sellers Ranjit Shah and Imran Jafar sell 30,84,375 shares worth ₹49.35 crore, and promoter-group member Sudesh Jain sells 6,25,000 shares worth ₹10 crore. Their sold portions equal roughly 8.73%, 12.13% and 5.75% of their respective pre-offer holdings. Promoters plus promoter group retain approximately 53.53%–54.23% across the band, before any later dilution from the outstanding ESOP pool. The RHP-reported seller acquisition costs range from nil to ₹20.58 per share, far below the ₹152–₹160 band for every seller; this makes the cash-out and continuing-control mix relevant governance context but does not establish the value of the operating business.
- The RHP reports aggregate related-party transaction categories equal to 102.76% of FY26 total income. That ratio includes multiple flows rather than net revenue, but it highlights how closely the manager, funds, employees and affiliates are economically connected.
- The statutory audit trail feature was not enabled from 1 April to 27 August 2025 before operating for the remainder of FY26. The issuer reports no tampering where the feature was enabled, but the control gap remains relevant.
- Gopal Jain and the senior investment team are important to fundraising, sourcing, investment committees and limited-partner relationships, creating key-person and retention risk.
- The overall employee attrition rate rose to 13.33% in FY26 even though there was no KMP or senior-management attrition. With only 23 permanent employees, departures below the senior tier can still affect diligence, portfolio support and investor reporting capacity.
- AIF regulation, taxation, valuation standards and rules governing sponsor commitments can change economics or restrict fundraising.
- Private fund performance is difficult to compare: IRR and multiple metrics depend on valuation policy, timing, realised versus unrealised gains and vintage.
- Fund V had filed its private-placement memorandum application with SEBI on 10 June 2026 but remained subject to approvals at the RHP date. Delay could change the timing or permitted deployment of proceeds.
- The RHP says no LP failed to honour a capital call in FY24–FY26, but it also records past delays in LP capital contributions. That history matters because a delayed call can force bridge funding or cause a fund to miss an investment even when headline commitments remain intact.
- The ₹372 crore sponsor allocation is scheduled across FY27, FY28 and FY29 at ₹141.50 crore, ₹146.50 crore and ₹84.00 crore. Shareholders therefore retain multi-year capital-call, deployment and liquidity risk after listing rather than receiving an immediately fee-generating asset.
- The RHP reports gross MOIC, TVPI and gross IRR before fees, expenses and taxes. Fund IV's 1.74× MOIC, 1.47× TVPI and 27.91% IRR are for an under-deployment, unrealised vintage and should not be treated like Fund II's largely realised 3.81× MOIC.
- Fund IV's governing agreements contain a clawback: previously distributed carried interest may have to be returned if LP returns fall below the hurdle because of indemnity payments or tax assessments. Reported carry therefore has contingent cash-flow risk even after receipt.
- Fund IV's top ten LPs supplied 63.42% of commitments. Delayed or missed capital calls, redemptive sentiment toward India or concentration among large domestic and overseas allocators can slow deployment and future fundraising.
- Several marks using the operating company's current Gaja Capital names were still applications filed in December 2024. Other registered Gaja marks are held by Gaja Advisors Private Limited, while the Mauritius subsidiary uses the name under a 2015 branding agreement, making ownership, licensing and renewal across group entities a continuing control item.
- The 2025 ESOP pool is nearly fully allocated: the RHP shows 15,60,700 options in force against a 15,87,462-option plan maximum. None had vested or been exercised. One FY26 grant to Dheeraj Prasad Devata accounts for about 73.3% of options in force, which strengthens retention alignment but concentrates future dilution and key-person exposure.
- FY24's restated presentation moved ₹18.395 crore of carried interest from other income to revenue from operations without changing total income or profit. Trend analysis should therefore use a consistent income definition and should not interpret the higher operating-revenue line as an economic restatement.
What to monitor after listing
- Fee-paying AUM, committed capital, deployment and fundraising by fund and vintage.
- Management fees separately from carried interest and income from sponsor commitments.
- Income-generating capital, the effective management-fee yield versus the generally stated 2% rate, and fee-paying capital lost as mature funds exit.
- Quarterly sponsor fair-value gains versus realised cash distributions, and approximately 20% carry recognised after preferred returns versus amounts exposed to clawback.
- Realised versus unrealised carry, distributed-to-paid-in capital and net fund performance after fees.
- Deployment of the ₹372 crore sponsor allocation and exposure concentration by portfolio company.
- Fund-by-fund capital calls, distributions, residual value, gross and net IRR, TVPI, DPI and loss ratio, with realised and unrealised vintages shown separately.
- Key-person provisions, senior-team retention, compensation and carried-interest sharing.
- Final offer price and allotment share count, the derived 46.97% promoter / 54.23% promoter-group cap-price bridge, selling-shareholder ownership, related-party fund arrangements and the audit-trail remediation.
- The final prospectus and depository record identifying the promoter shares that form the 18-month minimum contribution, the six-month excess and pre-offer blocks, and the actual lock-in end dates.
- Final anchor-allotment date, exact split of the odd 1,03,12,500-share anchor allocation and the resulting 30- and 90-day unlock dates.
- Fund IV top-ten LP concentration, capital-call delays and the mix of domestic versus overseas commitments in Fund V and the Secondaries Fund.
- Carry accrued, received, distributed and potentially subject to clawback, with hurdle status and realised versus unrealised support by fund.
- Trade-receivable ageing and loss allowances; settlement of the ₹2.64 crore carried-interest receivable; recovery of proposed-AIF advances; and conversion of fund marks into cash distributions.
- Uncalled commitments against cash, liquid investments, debt covenants and the timing of future capital calls, including the ₹58.58 crore balance outstanding at FY26.
- Employee attrition below senior-management level, employee-benefit expense as a share of revenue and continuity of investment, portfolio-operations and LP-reporting teams.
- Registration of the current company-name trademarks and continuing rights under intra-group brand licences.
- Vesting, cancellations and exercises under the 15.61-lakh outstanding ESOP balance, including the concentration of awards among senior employees and the resulting post-offer dilution.
- Consistent classification of carried interest between revenue from operations and other income, plus any further restatement or policy change that affects recurring-fee comparisons.
Valuation context
The official price advertisement gives post-offer market capitalisation of approximately ₹2,165.86–₹2,256.16 crore. That is about 26.4–27.5× FY26 consolidated PAT of ₹81.96 crore, or roughly 27.2–28.3× the ₹79.66 crore attributable to owners.
The advertisement's lower 21.20–22.32× P/E uses pre-offer diluted EPS of ₹7.17 and therefore does not capture the full fresh-issue dilution.
The RHP reports FY26 pre-offer NAV of ₹53.73 per share, putting the ₹152–₹160 band at about 2.83–2.98× pre-offer book. Adding the ₹450 crore fresh issue to FY26 net worth produces an illustrative gross post-offer book value of roughly ₹74.15–₹74.92 per share and price-to-book of about 2.05–2.14× before issue expenses; the bridge varies with the price-dependent fresh share count.
Listed references include 360 ONE WAM, HDFC AMC, Nippon Life India AMC, Nuvama Wealth, Anand Rathi Wealth, UTI AMC and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. Most have larger, more diversified and more recurring fee bases than a private-equity specialist.
A useful framework separates recurring management-fee earnings from volatile carry and sponsor returns, then values balance-sheet fund investments at an evidence-based discount or premium to reported NAV.
Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO FAQs
What is the Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO price band?
The stated price band is ₹152–₹160. Offer terms should be checked against the final prospectus and exchange notices.
When does the Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO open and close?
The IPO is scheduled to open on 19 August 2026 and close on 21 August 2026. The stated listing date is Expected 26 August 2026.
What is the Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO issue size?
The stated total issue size is ₹550 Cr, comprising ₹450 Cr of fresh issue and ₹100 Cr of offer for sale.
What is the minimum lot for the Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO?
The stated minimum lot is 93 shares.
What do the latest Gaja Alternative Asset Management financials show?
For FY26, the offer documents report revenue of ₹135.53 Cr, EBITDA of ₹72.05 Cr and PAT of ₹81.96 Cr. Read these figures with the cash-flow, leverage and working-capital analysis on this page.
What is a key risk in the Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO analysis?
Reported income is not predominantly recurring in every period. Carried interest and sponsor-investment gains depend on valuations, exits and distribution waterfalls.
How is the Gaja Alternative Asset Management IPO valued?
The official price advertisement gives post-offer market capitalisation of approximately ₹2,165.86–₹2,256.16 crore. That is about 26.4–27.5× FY26 consolidated PAT of ₹81.96 crore, or roughly 27.2–28.3× the ₹79.66 crore attributable to owners.