How Companies List Without IPO in India: 4 Alternative Routes

What comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘IPO’? Naturally, a company must be planning to raise funds and get listed on the stock exchange through the IPO, right? 

Well that is certainly true in most cases, but did you know that a company can get listed on the stock exchanges without an Initial Public Offering (IPO) too?

In this blog we’ll talk about different ways through which a company can get listed without going for an IPO, as well as which are the biggest unlisted companies in India:

How Can A Company Get Listed Without An Ipo?

1. Direct Listing: If a company wants to get listed publicly on NSE or BSE but does not have the resources to pay underwriters, they can use the direct listing process.¹ Under this, the company sells shares directly to the public without the involvement of any intermediaries or underwriters. Instead of issuing new shares, the company’s existing investors, employees and promoters can directly sell their shares to the public under this process.

Another way of going for direct listing is through RSEs. Companies which are already listed on RSEs (Regional Stock Exchanges) can go for direct listing too, though its not a popular option nowadays. A regional stock exchange is a trading venue based outside India’s primary financial center-Mumbai. RSEs are designed to help relatively smaller and local companies raise capital and eventually get listed on BSE or NSE through direct listing or ‘migration’. 

This becomes especially helpful for companies which could not meet the strict requirements of NSE/BSE listing due to constraints like paid up capital and net worth.²

2. Demerger: Another way of listing on stock exchanges is when a subsidiary company separates itself from the listed parent company. Examples of some companies that took this route are ITC Hotels and Vedanta Limited.

3. Backdoor Listing: A private company can go for a merger with a publicly traded shell company and hence get listed on the stock exchanges.³ For the unversed, a publicly traded shell company is an inactive public corporation which retains a valid stock exchange listing despite no significant assets or active business operations. 

They are often used for reverse mergers (also known as a  back-door IPO) by allowing private companies to go public in a quicker and cheaper manner than a traditional IPO. 

4. Institutional Trading Platform (ITP): India’s market regulator SEBI does allow growing companies and startups to skip the IPO route and get listed on Institutional Trading Platform (ITP). ITP is a platform for such companies to get listed and show their potential to their lenders as well as expected investors.⁴

Now you may wonder, why would a company not go for an IPO and instead opt for these other ways to get listed?

Well, the 2 big benefits of listing without an IPO include:

5. Lower Cost: These non-IPO ways to get listed often involve lesser expenses which are usually associated with underwriters and marketing when going for an IPO.

6. Quicker Process: Companies can also bypass the tedious and lengthy regulatory approval process of IPO through these above mentioned ways, hence making the stock exchange listing relatively faster.

Next, let’s bring to you the list of India’s biggest companies which are unlisted till date.

List Of India’s Biggest Unlisted Companies 

As per the first ever ‘JM Financial Hurun India Unlisted Gems 2026’ report which was released this year, here are the 10 biggest unlisted companies in India, as per revenue and net profit.

India's Top 10 Unlisted Companies by Revenu

Source: JMFI⁵

India's Top 10 Unlisted Companies By Net Profit

Source: JMFI⁶

List Of Stock Exchanges In India?

As per SEBI, here’s the list of India’s recognized stock exchanges:

Conclusion

While IPOs remain the most well-known route to enter the stock market, they are far from the only option. Companies today have multiple pathways such as direct listing, demergers, backdoor listings and SEBI’s Institutional Trading Platform to access public markets. These alternatives often offer advantages like lower costs, faster execution and fewer regulatory hurdles.

At the same time, the presence of large, successful unlisted companies shows that going public is not always necessary for growth. Businesses may choose to stay private to retain control, avoid compliance burdens or time the market more strategically.

For investors, understanding these different listing routes is important because they shape how and when opportunities become available in the public markets.

With platforms like Grip Invest, investors can go beyond traditional stocks and explore curated investment opportunities across bonds and alternative assets, helping build a more diversified portfolio even before companies hit the public markets.

Author: Grip Invest Editorial Team The Grip Invest Editorial Team is a group of Chartered Accountants, MBA (Finance) graduates, and Qualified Research Analysts dedicated to helping you invest smarter. We dive deep into India's fixed income landscape to deliver content that is accurate, up-to-date, and easy to understand. Whether you're exploring bonds, fixed deposits, or other fixed income opportunities, our guides cut through the noise and give you the clarity to make better financial decisions.

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