IPO glossary
The jargon you will meet in Indian IPO filings, in plain English.
- DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus)
- The first public document a company files with SEBI when it wants to raise money through an IPO. It describes the business, risks, finances, promoters and the planned use of money. SEBI reviews it and may ask for changes before the IPO can go ahead.
- UDRHP (Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus)
- Companies that use SEBI's confidential pre-filing route file an updated draft (UDRHP-I) once their filing becomes public, so investors and the public can comment before the final RHP.
- RHP (Red Herring Prospectus)
- The near-final offer document filed before the IPO opens. It includes the price band and key dates. It is called "red herring" because it does not yet state the final issue price.
- Prospectus
- The final document filed after the issue price is fixed and the IPO closes, before shares list on the stock exchange.
- DAP (Draft Abridged Prospectus)
- A short 10 to 20 page summary of the draft prospectus meant for retail readers. It carries the headline numbers without the full legal detail.
- Addendum
- A document that adds or updates information in an earlier filing, for example after a new financial period or a change in the offer terms.
- Corrigendum
- A document that corrects errors in an earlier filing.
- CIN (Corporate Identity Number)
- A unique 21-character identifier the Ministry of Corporate Affairs assigns to every company registered in India. It stays the same when a company changes its name, which is why this site uses it to track a company across all its filings.
- SEBI
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the regulator that reviews IPO filings and publishes them on its website.
- Promoters
- The people or entities that founded or control the company. Their background, other businesses and shareholding matter because they influence its decisions.
- Fresh issue vs. offer for sale (OFS)
- In a fresh issue the company sells new shares and receives the money. In an offer for sale existing shareholders sell their shares and the money goes to them, not the company. Many IPOs are a mix of both.
- Objects of the offer
- What the company says it will spend the IPO money on, such as expansion, repaying debt or general corporate purposes.
- Price band
- The range within which investors can bid for shares in a book-built IPO. It is announced in the RHP.
- Book building
- The process of discovering the IPO price by collecting bids within the price band before fixing the final price.