The year 2017 has been a bumper one for initial public offerings (IPOs) on Dalal Street, with as many as 167 issues hitting the stock market and raising Rs 68,810 crore so far. This is much more than the cumulative Rs 50,930 crore garnered in the past five calendar years.
General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) topped the IPO chart, garnering over Rs 11,372 crore in the largest public float by any firm since Coal India’s October 2010 offer that raised Rs 15,000 crore.
GIC was followed by New India Assurance Company, which raised Rs 9,600 crore, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company (Rs 8,695 crore) SBI Life Insurance Company (Rs 8,400 crore) and ICICI Lombard General Insurance (Rs 5,700 crore).
In terms of stock performance, Avenue Supermarts, which operates retail stores under the brand name D-Mart, was the best performer, gaining 90% over its listing price and a whopping 285% over its issue price. AU Small Finance Bank was the distant second, gaining 89% over its issue price and 29% over its listing price.
Here are the top 10 biggest IPOs of 2017 in terms of issue size:
General Insurance Corporation:
GIC might have been the biggest IPO in terms of issue size, but the stock of state-run general insurance company is trading 8% below its listing price of Rs 850, and 14% below its issue price of Rs 912.
New India Assurance Company:
New India Assurance got listed on the Street on November 13, 2017, raising Rs 9,600 crore. The stock is down 18% since its listing day.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance:
HDFC Life, one of the top three private life insurers in profitability, rallied 21% to Rs 376 a share since its listing on November 17. The stock is up 30% over its issue price of Rs 290. The company raised Rs 8,695-crore through its IPO, the biggest so far in the country’s life insurance sector.
SBI Life Insurance Company:
SBI Life Insurance, which raised Rs 8,400 crore via its IPO, failed to enthuse investors on the Street. The scrip is trading flat against its issue price of Rs 700, and is down over 4% to Rs 699 against its listing price of Rs 733.
ICICI Lombard General Insurance:
The IPO by ICICI Lombard was the first by any general insurance company. The stock made a tepid debut on the bourses by listing at Rs 650, but recovered all its losses to gain 20% over its listing price and 18% over its issue price of Rs 661.
AU Small Finance Bank:
The Rs 1,912-crore IPO of AU Small Finance Bank received a good investor response in the primary market and also made strong gains in the secondary market. The scrip got listed at Rs 525, a 46.65% premium to the issue price of Rs 358 apiece. It is still up over 89%.
Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management:
Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNLAM), promoted by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group-led Reliance Capital, had received healthy demand for its Rs 1,542-crore offering. The scrip is up over 13% against its issue price, but down over 2% against its listing price.
Cochin Shipyard:
The Rs 1,468-crore IPO of Cochin Shipyard kicked off in the primary market on a strong note, and after a tepid listing at Rs 440 managed to soar by 21% to Rs 522 the same day. The scrip is trading 26% higher against its listing price.
Avenue Supermarts:
Avenue Supermarts should well be called the star IPO of 2017. The stock not only listed at a 100% premium to its issue price of Rs 299, but also entered into the list of the top-100 most valuable companies in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap) on debut.
Hudco:
The Rs 1,224 crore IPO of state-run Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), a 'Miniratna' firm, had received bids worth Rs 97,000 crore. It recorded the highest oversubscription in any PSU disinvestment. The scrip listed at Rs 73 on the exchanges, a 21% premium over its issue price of Rs 60. The stock, trading at Rs 81, is still up 35% over its issue price.

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