ICICI Prudential AMC: Jhunjhunwala's firm, Madhusudan Kela among key pre-IPO investors

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd, India's largest mutual fund asset manager by active quarterly average assets under management (QAAUM), has successfully raised approximately Rs 4,815 crore in its pre-IPO placement. The private placement involved the issuance of 22,240,841 equity shares at Rs 2,165 per share, drawing participation from a diverse set of marquee investors.

Among the investors in this round were notable names, including Lunate Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign fund; the estate of the late ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala; The Regents of the University of California - IIFL Asset Management, Sarv Investments and 3P India Equity Fund managed by Prashant Jain. Other prominent participants included PI Opportunities Fund-II, 360One Funds, DSP India Fund, Whiteoak Capital India Opportunities Fund, HCL Capital, Manish Chokhani and Madhusudan Kela.

Insurance companies like SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, Kotak Life Insurance, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, Bajaj Life Insurance, TATA AIG General Insurance and Go Digit General Insurance also took part.

Additional investors included Kedaara Capital Public Markets Fund, TIMF Holdings, Malabar India Fund and Clarus Capital I. ICICI Bank itself contributed about Rs 2,140 crore, acquiring an additional 2 per cent stake in the company.

The upcoming IPO is an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 48,972,994 equity shares by the promoter, Prudential Corporation Holdings Ltd.

As of September 30, 2025, ICICI Prudential AMC held a dominant market share of 13.3 per cent in mutual fund QAAUM with a total of Rs 10,14,760 crore. It also led the equity and equity-oriented segment with a 13.6 per cent share and commanded an impressive 25.8 per cent share in equity-oriented hybrid schemes. Its monthly average assets under management attributable to individual investors stood at Rs 6,61,030 crore, the highest in the Indian mutual fund industry.

The firm has a growing alternatives segment that includes portfolio management services, alternative investment funds, and offshore advisory services.

In terms of profitability, ICICI Prudential AMC reported operating profit before tax (OPBT) of Rs 3,236 crore for FY2025, surpassing peers with about 20 per cent of the industry's operating profit. Its OPBT in H1 FY2026 was Rs 1,933 crore, widening its lead over HDFC AMC.

At the proposed valuation of Rs 1,07,000 crore, the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) stands at 40.4x for FY2025 earnings and 33.1x on annualised H1 FY2026 numbers, representing more than a 10 per cent discount to HDFC AMC's valuation. On an OPBT-adjusted basis, the valuation discount to HDFC AMC increases to around 16 per cent for FY2025 and approximately 26 per cent for H1 FY2026.