The IPO market in India is huge, offering a wide window for investors to make impressive profits. An IPO or initial public offering is when a private company sells its shares to the public for the first time, becoming a listed company on the stock exchange. IPO allows the company to earn profit for expansion and investors can earn from it as well. Before investing in an IPO it is important that you first understand all about IPO prospectus.
To begin with, an IPO prospectus is a detailed introduction to the company‘s financial health and investment opportunities it is planning to offer through IPOs. Keep reading to learn all about IPO prospectus that will help you make an informed decision.
Importance of an IPO Prospectus
As discussed above, a company’s IPO prospectus is a detailed introduction to the company‘s financial health, and it serves as a window for investors who are interested in putting their money in the company.
In addition to providing information and details about the company and its finances to potential investors, an IPO prospectus is also important as it helps the company set an image and tone to attract potential investors.
An IPO prospectus is one of the most important documents for any company offering an IPO. You must also know that an IPO prospectus is available for you to read and analyse before deciding to invest.
Key Components of an IPO Prospectus
Remember that an IPO prospectus is more than just a detailed guide for investors. It serves as a legal document featuring details about the company’s operations and financial planning. Therefore, the Securities and Exchange Board of India had issued guidelines mandating certain specific requirements that every IPO prospectus must contain.
Take a look at these key components of an IPO prospectus:
This Section of the IPO prospectus deals with the company's history, evolution, business model, products and services it offers, other business plans and overview.
This section of the IPO prospectus is one of the most important as it deals with the audited financial statement of the company for the past few years. In addition, it also deals with projections for the future performance of the company's finances.
Another key component of an IPO prospectus is details about the company's managing team that include information like their experience, compensation they receive, qualifications etc.
Since an IPO is offered by any company to raise funds through potential investors, SEBI has mandated such companies to provide a clear explanation of how they are planning to use the funds raised through the IPO in their IPO prospectus.
An IPO prospectus must also contain details on the potential risks that investors must be aware of before investing and how the company is planning to manage such risks.
In addition to the above-discussed components, there are certain compliances and regulations under Indian laws on IPOs that the company has to disclose and its IPO prospectus.
How to Analyse an IPO Prospectus
Remember that since an IPO is the first time a company is listing its shares on the stock exchange it is obvious that there is a limited track record about the company’s performance in the market. Therefore it becomes extremely important to read and analyse an IPO prospectus smartly before deciding to invest as it serves as the sole document offering an insight into the company.
Here’s a list of considerations that you must bear in mind while analysing an IPO Prospectus:
The starting point for you to analyse an IPO prospectus is understanding the industry ecosystem in which the company operates. Remember that every industry has a unique type of equation when it comes to demand and supply. When a company offers an IPO there is a business model in place that must align with the market for the said industry to bring profits. Therefore you first need to understand whether the industry in which the company operates, its business model and current market scenario are in alignment to get profits.
When a company launches an IPO to attract investors it starts by creating a buzz through IPO prospectus and marketing strategies. This is a great window for you to understand whether the market is reacting positively or not to the company’s IPO prospectus.
Remember that the company's finances matter the most when it comes to the future of an IPO. Make sure that you analyse the company‘s sales and profits trend in the last three years carefully to understand whether or not the valuations are in alignment with the current and predicted earnings.
The managing team of a company is the support cast that ensures positive results from an IPO and therefore you must first research the managing team.
Remember that an IPO prospectus mentions how the company is planning to use funds raised through an IPO. A simple rule of analysing an IPO prospectus is to be wary of the company if it is planning to use all the proceeds just for working capital and not expansion strategies.
Types of IPO Prospectus
Before we move ahead with discussions on the risk that you must be aware of, it is first important that you understand different types of IPO prospectus. There are four types of IPO prospectus that you must know:
The Draft Red Herring Prospectus or DRHP is the first document issued by a company to start its IPO process. It is created by the lead manager of the company and submitted to the SEBI for approval. Since it is a preliminary prospectus it usually contains details like the company's overview, specifics about the IPO and risk associated with it. Remember that this type of IPO prospectus is valid for 12 months from the filing date but the companies are at liberty to update their DRHP prospectus as they come close to the date of IPO launch.
The Red Herring Prospectus is issued after the DRHP prospectus and it contains specific details about the IPO like its launching date, prices and also the latest audited financial statement that was not mentioned in DRHP. This type of prospectus is of great importance for investors as it helps them make an informed decision when it comes to bidding on the shares.
As the name suggests the IPO final prospectus contains all the details about the IPO including the final issue price, size of the net offering and total number of shares the company is planning to offer.
An Abridged prospectus is a type of IPO prospectus that offers a summary of the company and its planning relating to the IPO. This type of prospectus is issued with the application form.
Common Risks Highlighted in an IPO Prospectus
As discussed above an IPO prospectus must contain certain details about the risk associated with investments made in the company’s IPO. Let’s take a look at common risks that are highlighted in an IPO prospectus that you must go through carefully before deciding to invest:
An IPO prospectus must deal with market risk associated with their IPOs. This includes the potential volatility that the IPO might be subjected to at least in the first few months. This helps the investor to decide whether their investment goals are lying with the company's IPO.
One of the key components that you must know about an IPO is that the SEBI has mandated a minimum subscription criteria that an IPO must get for successful listing. Therefore in any case when the company fails to attract a specific number of subscriptions for their IPOs it comes under the liability to return the investors money along with interest. These types of regulatory risks are also mentioned in the IPO prospectus.
Additionally in an IPO prospectus the company is under an obligation to disclose potential challenges that it might face under the current financial status of the company and its plans.
An IPO prospectus also deals with the potential risk that the company might face that will impact its finances and future planning.
Conclusion: Making Informed Investment Decisions
An IPO prospectus is an important document that you must carefully analyse before deciding to invest. It deals with all the necessary information about the company’s IPO like its opening price, closing price, launch date etc. Since an IPO prospectus also features an overview of the company, its financial statement and future planning, it becomes easy for you to decide whether investing in the company’s IPO aligns with their investment goals. Remember that analysing an IPO prospectus with due diligence is crucial before investing.