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Small IPOs see faster anchor exits, SEBI study finds
SEBI study of 242 mainboard IPOs shows anchor investors exit smaller issues faster: 72% sold in a year vs 41% for larger IPOs. FPIs drive the selling.
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Anchor investors dump shares faster in smaller mainboard IPOs, a SEBI study of 242 offerings between April 2022 and October 2025 shows. The regulator found an inverse relationship between issue size and exit rates.
For IPOs raising less than ₹250 crore, anchor investors sold 9.1% of their allocation after the first 30-day lock-in period. That figure jumped to 20% by 60 days and 32% after 90 days. At 365 days, the exit rate hit 72%. Compare that with issues in the ₹1,001–2,500 crore range, where the one-year exit was just 41%.
The weighted aggregate exit across all IPOs was lower – 3% after the first unlock, rising to about 8% by 60 days and 17% after the second unlock at roughly 90 days. That suggests larger offerings, which carry more weight in the aggregate, see slower selling.
FPIs were the biggest sellers. At the first unlock window, stocks where anchor exit exceeded 10% saw FPIs offloading 24.5% of their holdings on average, while mutual funds sold only 11.5%. In absolute value terms, FPIs contributed about ₹1,750 crore at the first exit, ₹4,800 crore at 60 days, and ₹10,400 crore at the second exit. That is 3%, 9%, and 20% of their total anchor allotment respectively.