125 Indian companies went public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2021. Guess how much money they raised? A whopping $18 billion! That’s not all. Some of them are now known as the biggest IPOs in India.
We’re not going to bore you with the basics of an IPO or how it works. Instead, we’re going to get right down to the list of top IPOs in India by issue size. Feel free to use the index to read about the ones you’re interested in!
Top 10 Biggest IPOs in India
IPOs are not new in India. But their frequency has surged through the roof in the recent past. Some consider IPOs to be a worthwhile investment while others tend to shy away from them. You’ll understand why later on.
1. LIC
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) Limited is a government-owned business. LIC is synonymous with insurance in India because it’s been around since 1956. Furthermore, it is known to offer affordable insurance plans.
During the Union Budget of 2021-22, FM Nirmala Sitharaman revealed that the GoI was planning to disinvest a part of its stake in LIC.
While the public issue was delayed by more than a year, the IPO was finally launched in 2022. Here are the details of the LIC IPO.
- IPO Date: 04-05-2022 to 09-05-2022
- IPO Size: Rs. 21,000 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 902 to Rs 949
- Listed On: 17-05-2022
- Current Price: Rs. 655.50 (-20.66%)
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 4,15,236 crores
The result? LIC’s public issue now has the title of the biggest IPO in India. It overtook Paytm, which is now India’s second-largest IPO. Paytm, as you’ll read soon, was at the top of the list between November 2021 to May 2022.
2. Paytm
Paytm is a fintech company that’s owned by One97 Communications. It offers a suite of services ranging from payments to banking. There was a lot of buzz when Paytm filed its DRHP with SEBI.
The reason? The IPO would’ve made it India’s biggest public offering. In fact, that’s what happened. Paytm raised Rs. 18,300 crores split between a fresh issue of Rs. 8,300 crores and the rest as an Offer For Sale (OFS).
- IPO Date: 08-11-2022 to 10-11-2022
- Issue Size: Rs. 18,300 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 2,080 to Rs. 2,150
- Listed On: 18-11-2022
- Current Price: Rs. 533.00
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 34,680 crores
While Paytm’s reign as the biggest IPO in India was short-lived, it did displace Coal India from the top of the list which held that mantle from October 2010 to November 2021, a whole 11 years.
3. Coal India
Coal India is one of the largest coal producers in the world. In fact, it’s classified as a Navratna Company, which basically means it has a strong balance sheet and the potential to become a leading global company.
Back in 2010, Coal India’s IPO garnered significant interest just like LIC and Paytm IPOs because of the issue size. The fact that CRISIL gave a Grade 5 rating to Coal India’s IPO also drove the public issue into the spotlight.
- IPO Date: 18-10-2010 to 21-10-2010
- Issue Size: Rs. 15,200 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 225 to Rs. 245
- Listed On: 04-11-2010
- Current Price: Rs. 225.85
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 1,39,185 crores
As you may have noticed, this is the second government-backed company on the list of top IPOs. There’ll be more as the story goes on.
4. Reliance Power
Established in 1995, Reliance Power is a company that handles projects related to power generation and distribution. The power company’s IPO was much sought after at the time because of multiple reasons.
India was making a push towards accelerating power infrastructure while the name Reliance carried weight in terms of reputation, prompting CRISIL to assign a Grade 4/5 rating to Reliance Power’s IPO.
- IPO Date: 15-01-2008 to 18-01-2008
- Issue Size: Rs. 11,700 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 405 to Rs. 450
- Listed On: 11-02-2008
- Current Price: Rs. 12.55
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 4,669 crores
Reliance Power’s first day on the stock market was nothing less than a topsy turvy ride. The stock started off strongly with more than a 20% gain on its IPO price. That said, RRPOWER quickly plummetted to ~Rs. 372 on the same day.
Many factors played a role in the downfall of RPOWER. As per experts, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the resulting fear were also some of the reasons. However, RPOWER’s IPO was the biggest in India for a brief period.
5. General Insurance Corporation of India
General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India was established in 1972. It is a reinsurance company that operates across continents and, as per gross premiums, it is the largest reinsurer in India.
The way reinsurance works is complex. But in simple terms, it’s a method of dividing and reducing the cost of premiums for companies. GIC does this not just in India, but also in Africa and the Middle East.
The Indian government owns GIC and disinvested a part of its stake in the company back in 2017. The GIC IPO was on track to become the second largest IPO in India, which piqued the interest of potential investors.
- IPO Date: 11-10-2017 to 13-10-2017
- Issue Size: Rs. 11,257 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 855 to Rs. 912
- Listed On: 25-10-2017
- Current Price: Rs. 182.50
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 32,017 crores
Much like the other IPOs on this list, GIC’s public issue tanked on listing. Moreover, it’s down by close to 70% since its IPO. You’ll notice that this is a recurring theme for most top IPOs.
6. ONGC
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a public sector undertaking that was founded in 1956. The main goal of ONGC is to produce crude oil and natural gas through exploration.
The GoI has classified ONGC as a Maharatna, a title that’s only assigned to companies that have a superior balance sheet. In fact, ONGC was the highest profit-maker in the PSU sector as per a 2019 survey.
Back in 1994, ONGC decided to go public by offering a 20% stake to public investors. The rest was retained by the government. At the time, ONGC was the biggest company in India by net worth.
- IPO Date: 05-03-2004 to 13-03-2004
- Issue Size: Rs. 10,534 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 680 to Rs. 750
- Listed On: 03-2004
- Current Price: Rs. 145.15
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 1,82,288 crores
ONGC became a Navratna in 1997 and a Maharatna in 2010. The IPO happened in between, meaning ONGC’s balance sheet & contributions to the economy went up significantly.
7. SBI Cards and Payments
SBI Cards and Payments was established in 1998. The two entities at the center of the launch were SBI and GE Capital, which had a 60-40% split in ownership between them.
The goal of launching SBI Cards and Payments was simple – to help more Indians access credit cards and other payment solutions. Fast forward a few years and SBI Card is now the second-largest credit card issuer in India.
The company decided to go public via an IPO in March 2020, a few days before the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
- IPO Date: 02-03-2020 to 05-03-2020
- Issue Size: Rs. 10,355 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 750 to Rs. 755
- Listed On: 16-03-2020
- Current Price: Rs. 718.50
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 67,765 crores
SBI Card is a part of an ecosystem of SBI companies listed on the share market. Others include the likes of SBI Life Insurance and parent entity SBI itself. Stick around till the end of the blog for information on SBI Life’s IPO.
8. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
Believe it or not, The New India Assurance Company has been around for more than 100 years! The company was established in 1919 and was nationalized in 1974, meaning the GoI runs the insurance giant.
New India Assurance was a subsidiary of General Insurance Corporation, another company that appeared on the list of top IPOs in India. NIA became autonomous when GIC was converted into a pure-play re-insurance company.
NIA launched its IPO in 2017 at the ripe old age of 98 years. The President of India was one of the company promoters. Here are the details of the IPO.
- IPO Date: 01-11-2017 to 3-11-2017
- Issue Size: Rs. 9,586 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 770 to Rs. 800
- Listed On: 13-11-2017
- Current Price: Rs. 117.40
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 19,347 crores
So far, we’ve had serious businesses from domains like finance, insurance, fintech, coal, oil, and more. The next entry on our list of top IPOs is a new-age company that’s used for online food delivery.
9. Zomato
Online food delivery in India has blown up. Zomato is at the center of it. The food delivery platform was launched in 2008 and operates in multiple countries like Sri Lanka, the UK, Qatar, and others.
However, Zomato launched a dedicated food delivery service only in 2015. Before that, the platform was used to browse hotels and restaurants and make reservations.
After multiple features that were hits and misses, Zomato launched its IPO in 2021. Experts had a divided opinion on the IPO. Nevertheless, Zomato’s IPO entered the top 10 as it raised Rs. 9,375 crores.
- IPO Date: 14-07-2021 to 16-07-2021
- Issue Size: Rs. 9,375 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 72 to Rs. 76
- Listed On: 23-07-2021
- Current Price: Rs. 47.40
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 40,543 crores
Recently, Zomato’s lock-in period for pre-IPO investors came to an end. That’s why the share fell by 22% in two days at the close. While the stock has recovered, the company is battling a lack of profitability even after its listing.
10. DLF
Delhi Land & Finance (DLF) develops real estate primarily in Delhi and surrounding areas. The company was founded in 1946 and operates a full stack of real estate development services.
You might also recall that DLF was the sponsor of the very first IPL, an event that took place a year after DLF’s IPO. At the time, DLF’s public issue made it to the top 10 biggest IPOs in India because it raised Rs. 9,188 crores.
- IPO Date: 11-06-2007 to 14-06-2007
- Issue Size: Rs. 9,188 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 500 to Rs. 550
- Listed On: 05-07-2007
- Current Price: Rs. 353.20
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 87,415 crores
While this concludes our main list of top IPOs, we’ve added 3 more just for you!
Bonus: More Biggest IPOs in India
The IPOs that are now 11th, 12th, and 13th were once part of the top 10 IPOs in India. These companies lost their place as the IPO craze got bigger – companies like Paytm and Zomato entered the market.
11. HDFC Life Insurance
- IPO Date: 07-11-2017 to 09-11-2017
- Issue Size: Rs. ₹8,695 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 275 to Rs. 290
- Listed On: 17-11-2017
- Current Price: Rs. 586.50
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 126,370 crores
12 . SBI Life Insurance Company
- IPO Date: 20-09-2017 to 22-09-2017
- Issue Size: Rs. 8,400 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 685 to Rs. 700
- Listed On: 03-10-2017
- Current Price: Rs. 1,236.35
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 123,447 crores
13. Star Health and Allied Insurance Company
- IPO Date: 30-11-2021 to 02-12-2021
- Issue Size: ₹7,249.18 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 870 to Rs. 900
- Listed On: 10-12-2021
- Current Price: Rs. 489.85
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 28,478 crores
14. NHPC
- IPO Date: 07-08-2009 to 12-08-2009
- Issue Size: Rs. 6,039 crores
- IPO Price: Rs. 30 to Rs. 36
- Listed On: 01-09-2009
- Current Price: Rs. 43.60
- Current Market Cap: Rs. 43,545 crores
Conclusion
The 10 biggest IPOs in India have raised over Rs. 1,27,000 crores between them. That said, a majority of these IPOs have been termed as wealth killers because they’re trading below their issue price or have failed to grow.
That’s why the IPO craze has been tempered, along with the fact that there’s a liquidity crunch in the market. Nevertheless, IPOs are a way for promising companies to raise money from public investors.
On the flip side, many view IPO investing as an asset and potential wealth creation avenue, albeit with significant volatility and risk. Whether this will change remains to be seen.
FAQs
Q. What is the largest IPO in history?
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) raised Rs. 21,000 crores in 2022 to become the largest IPO in India’s history, dethroning Paytm which held the spot for less than a year.
Q. Which is the best IPO in India?
As far as the largest IPOs are concerned, ONGC and SBI Life Insurance Company have outperformed the others on the list, making them the best IPOs to have been listed in India.
Q. Who raised money through the largest IPO in India?
In 2022, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) raised Rs. 21,000 crores through its IPO, making it the largest public offering in India.
Disclaimer: This blog is not to be construed as investment advice. Trading and investing in the securities market carries risk. Please do your own due diligence or consult a trained financial professional before investing. Updated on 30-01-2023.
