Worst IPOs In India: Behind the limelight of success stories and rag-to-riches, billionaires exists a darker, grim version of the stock market.
People lose money in the market every day and this is a well-known fact to those who are experienced in the market. To new investors who enter the market, it can be quite confusing and difficult to digest.
Quite a lot of companies have gone public since the 2020 pandemic swept India, and we’ve compiled a list of the worst-performing IPOs in India that have wiped out lakhs of crores of investor wealth.
In this blog, we’re going to cover some of the worst IPOs in India in terms of how much wealth has been lost since their recent listing.
List Of Worst IPOs In India
| S. No. | Company | Offer Price | IPO Size (Issue Size) | Market Price (As On 04-11-2022) | % Loss since listing |
| 1 | Life Insurance Corporation Of India | ₹902 to ₹949 per share | ₹21,008.48 Cr | 628.3 | -28.21% |
| 2 | One97 Communications (Paytm) | ₹2080 to ₹2150 per share | ₹18,300.00 Cr | 650.25 | -58.34% |
| 3 | Zomato | ₹72 to ₹76 per share | ₹9,375.00 Cr | 62.7 | -50.24% |
| 4 | Fsn E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) | ₹1085 to ₹1125 per share | ₹5,351.92 Cr | 1,114.55 | -52.74% |
| 5 | Delhivery | ₹462 to ₹487 per share | ₹5,235.00 Cr | 385.55 | -28.12% |
1. LIC (India)
Coming up on #1 on this list is India’s biggest historical IPO – Life Insurance Corporation Of India. Among all the companies we’ve mentioned here, it has the longest time gap between its founding and its public offering – almost 66 years!
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the proposal to take LIC public in the 2021 Union Budget and it came to fruition in May 2022, when LIC finally went public. The issue size of the IPO was the highest of its time at almost ₹21,008 crores.
The company is listed at a discount as compared to their offer price of ₹901 to ₹949 per share. LIC of India has already lost over 28% of its value from listing to November 2022.
While a 28% loss itself is a sizable number, given the market cap and sheer size of the IPO, it represents a loss of almost $18 billion dollars in investor wealth. It makes LIC one of the largest IPO flops in India as well as Asia.
2. Paytm (One97 Communications)
UPI is one of the most successful payment technologies in the world and its convenience has changed the way we conduct day-to-day transactions. One company that has contributed to this growth is Pay Through Mobile or Paytm.
The company was started by Vijay Shekhar Sharma back in 2010 in New Delhi. They provide a wide range of services including booking online flights, train and bus tickets, DTH and mobile recharge, credit card payments, online shopping, bill payments, and much more.
Paytm’s parent company, One97 Communications got listed in November 2021, barely a year ago. The size of the issue was a mind-boggling ₹18,300 crores, making it one of the biggest IPOs of 2021.
The issue price of the share was between the range of ₹2080 to ₹2150 but it was listed on the markets at a deep discount of ₹1,560 per share, almost a 20% decline from its asking price.
At a 58% loss, this IPO has fallen the sharpest in our list of Worst IPO in India. The company’s losses have consistently widened year on year and will continue to reflect in the company’s share price. In fact, they haven’t booked a profit in well over 5 years.
3. Zomato
Zomato – One of India’s largest delivery and online restaurant service companies. The company started as f back in 2010 and connects customers, restaurants, and delivery partners through its website and mobile applications.
Besides food delivery, the company has also transitioned to groceries and high-end ingredients through its subsidiaries BlinkIt and Hyperpure respectively.
Zomato went public almost 11 years after being founded – In July 2021. The company was issuing its shares between the price range of ₹72-₹76 per share. Their total issue size was worth almost ₹9,400 crores.
The stock even listed at a premium when it went public – ₹126 per share! Well close to double what the company was asking before listing.
For a short duration, it climbed and reached an all-time high of ₹169 per share. The stock hasn’t recovered since then and it is trading below the issue price at the moment.
4. Nykaa (Fsn E-Commerce Ventures)
Officially known as FSN E-Commerce Ventures, Nykaa is an e-commerce platform that sells lifestyle, beauty, and self-care products through its online website and applications.
The company was founded by Falguni Nayar, a veteran director with experience at renowned companies such as Kotak Mahindra Capital, Dabur, and Tata Motors.
Coming to the IPO, Nykaa went public a year ago in November of 2021. The total issue size was slightly over ₹5,300 crores at a price range of ₹1085 to ₹1125 per share.
To investors’ delight, it opened at a premium of double its asking price – around ₹2,300 per share! The trend was short-lived and currently, its stock price is almost on par with the issue price.
Since listing, Nykaa’s shares have given a return of -52%, translating to losing over half its value.
5. Delhivery
Delhivery is a logistics company that was founded in Delhi over 11 years ago. The company began operations through offline delivery from stores and local restaurants to customers’ homes.
After e-commerce took over, they shifted their services to online deliveries of products. The company went on to offer delivery services to large e-commerce giants.
Now coming to the IPO, the company went public recently in May 2022 with an issue size of over ₹5,235 crores.
Their issue price was in the range of ₹462 to ₹487 per share but the stock listed at a premium of ₹541 and within two months, reached an all-time high of ₹688 per share!
The stock only went downhill from there and since listing, it has fallen by over 28% in value, wiping out thousands of crores of investor wealth in the process.
Also Read: What Is The Cut-Off Price In IPO? Meaning, Types & More!
In Closing
The most basic expectation from an investment is that it should safeguard your principle and these IPOs have so far failed to do that.
With almost 6 weeks to go for 2023, do you think there will be more IPOs that’ll surprise investors and make it to the list of Worst IPOs in India? Let us know below!
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