In April, SEBI extended the validity of IPO observation letters expiring between April 1 and September 30 until September 30.
September will emerge as one of the busiest seasons for lifting of anchor lock-in period with 21 IPOs including Manipal Health, Leap India, Milky Mist Dairy, Shiprocket, Lalitha Jewellery and Gaja Alternative Asset Management scheduled to complete their 30-day anchor lock-in with aggregate anchor investment of nearly ₹11,485 crore.
The 50 per cent of the anchor allocation becomes eligible for sale after 30 days and the immediate unlock value is estimated at about ₹5,742 crore over this month, according to Geojit Investments.
Despite uncertainty clouding sentiments in secondary markets, the primary market was most buoyant in August with 21 mainboard IPOs raising about ₹21,000 crore, making it the highest monthly deal count of the year.
In April, SEBI extended the validity of IPO observation letters expiring between April 1 and September 30 until September 30.
The market regulator gave a one-time extension for IPOs, follow-on public offers and rights issues approvals that were originally set to lapse in that window. The relief was provided due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions amid raging war in West Asia.
The benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex declined by 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively in August, snapping a two-month winning streak.
The introduction of the closing auction session on August 3 led to heightened volatility, particularly impacting closing prices and drawing scrutiny during the Sensex’s monthly derivatives expiry.
Tanvi Kanchan, Associate director Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers said the SEBI-mandate on lock-in are staggered with 30 days for half of the anchor allotment, 90 days for the rest and up to 180 days for other categories. The spread-out lock-in are precisely to prevent a one-shot off-load of share.
After the Lenskart’s lock-in expired recently, early investors sold close to ₹5,650 crore worth of shares through block deals within days, she said.
The fund raise by new-age companies alone have increased by 38 per cent to ₹40,000 crore through 15 IPOs against about ₹29,000 crore across 13 IPOs last year. A busier primary market today mechanically means a busier unlock calendar for next six and 12 months down the line, she added.
Instead of tracking the lock-in expiry and off-load of shares, investors should track stocks with stretched valuations amid minimal float, said Kanchan.
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Source: Read the original article on www.thehindubusinessline.com
