A Book Running Lead Manager (BRLM) is a SEBI-registered merchant banker hired by the company going public to manage the IPO process. Large mainboard IPOs typically appoint 2-6 BRLMs to share the workload and distribute risk. Common Indian BRLMs include Kotak Mahindra Capital, ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, HDFC Bank, SBI Capital Markets, JM Financial, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley.
BRLMs handle every commercial and regulatory aspect of the offering: drafting the DRHP and RHP, managing the SEBI filing process, pricing the issue based on demand-side feedback (roadshows, anchor book-building), allocating shares across QIB / NII / Retail categories, and underwriting any undersubscribed portion of the issue.
BRLM track record matters for valuation. Issues led by top-tier BRLMs tend to be priced more conservatively, attract larger anchor allocations, and have better post-listing support. Retail investors can use the BRLM list as one signal — though never the only one — of an issue's institutional credibility.