What is an IPO?

Without getting into a lot of technical details, let us understand what an Initial Public Offering or IPO means in very simplistic terms. Let us say that there is a Company A, which is doing well, and wants to raise money for further expansion.

Subject to fulfilling all conditions laid down by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the company can raise money by issuing fresh shares to the public and also to select investment banks, mutual funds and institutions.

The fresh issue of capital at a share price would be determined by the merchant bankers and the company. Thus when shares are issued to the public, the company will than get its shares listed and become a full-fledged company. The process of listing a company by offering shares to various categories of investors is called an IPO.

There are many advantages of an IPO. Some of these include:

1) Listing of shares

One of the biggest advantages of an IPO, is that the promoters can get their shares listed. The shares begin to trade on the exchanges after all the listing and other agreements are complied with.The shares would than trade like all other listed companies.

2) Raising Capital

Another advantage of an IPO is that it allows you to raise capital. Say a company has tried to raise money through banks and institutions, but there are limitations there. It can than use the Initial Public Offer Route. However, it has to clearly specify in the offer document how the money raised from the public will be utilized.

3) Compliance in an IPO

In all cases there has to be transparency and abiding with the provisions of guidelines by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, RBI, exchanges and various other authorities. Do feel free to browse our website for all details on forthcoming IPOs and terms that you may not be familiar with in an Initial Public Offering.