As primary market activity picks up pace in India, investment banks are looking to expand their teams to capture the key role of regulatory compliance on initial public offerings, according to people familiar with the matter.
Boutique advisory firms and international lenders including Avendus Capital Pvt, Moelis & Co, Rothschild & Co, Societe Generale SA and BNP Paribas SA are said to be exploring options to build out or enhance their "left-lead" equity capital market capabilities, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private and exploratory.
Two firms currently limited to ancillary sectors such as wealth management are also said to be looking to build out merchant banking capabilities through direct hiring of left-lead personnel, Mint has learnt.
In India's equity capital markets, the left-lead bookrunning manager directly engages with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Responsibilities include preparing the draft red herring prospectus, handling legal correspondence, representing the issuer in query sessions with regulators following the document filing and valuing the offer once all stakeholders are consulted.
Firms that previously were limited to syndicating and distributing shares are expanding operations to secure main mandates as market activity increases.