IPO pipeline: DRHP status and SEBI approvals

A draft red herring prospectus is the first offer document a company files with SEBI before a mainboard IPO. It has the business, financials, risks and the structure of the issue, but not the price band or dates.

SEBI has finished reviewing the draft and sent its comments. In practice this is the go-ahead: the company updates the draft, files a red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies and then announces the price band.

Twelve months. Under the SEBI ICDR Regulations the IPO must open within 12 months of the date SEBI issues its observations, or the company has to file again.

It varies with the company and the questions SEBI asks. Over the last 12 months the median was 115 days from receipt to observations, for the drafts in SEBI's reports (our calculation).

A company can file its draft with SEBI without making it public. The draft becomes public only after SEBI's observations, when the company files an updated draft (UDRHP-I) that stays open for public comments for 21 days.

SME IPOs file their draft with NSE Emerge or BSE SME, not with SEBI. SEBI's reports cover mainboard issues only.

No. Drafts are returned or withdrawn, and approvals lapse if the company does not launch within 12 months. Market conditions decide much of the timing.