What is an Initial Public Offering (IPO)?

Exchange: It is a place where a company’s shares or derivative products like Futures and options are issued and traded between retail investors, institutional investors, traders, etc. There are two stock exchanges in India namely the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). There is one more exchange called MCX, where securities related to commodities are traded.  

IPO Open Date / Issue Close Date: It is a date on which a potential investor can subscribe for the shares issued by  company. Open date is the 1st day on which the subscription starts and close date is the last date for subscription. Normally, a subscription will be open for three days.

Lot Size: A lot consists of a certain number of shares. There is a minimum lot and maximum lot. The value of the  minimum lot should not breach Rs 15,000-mark and maximum lot should not cross Rs 2 lakh mark.

Issue Price: It the price of a single share that is on offer. It has lower price band and upper price band per equity share.  

Issue Size: It is the total amount a company plans to raise by issuing shares to public in an IPO. These shares can be fresh shares or shares held by promoter or promoter group.