This means that many investors who bought shares in these IPOs may not have got the returns they expected. Only 2 of the top-10 biggest IPOs have outperformed the CNX500. The CNX500 or Nifty500 is made up of the top 500 companies listed on the NSE. The recent Rs 27,000 crore Hyundai IPO is the biggest ever in the Indian IPO market.

With companies expected to raise over Rs 5 lakh crore through share sales from 2023 and a record number of IPOs hitting the market, many investors are wondering if mega-IPOs deliver strong returns.

CapitalMind analysed historical data on the top 30 Indian IPOs by market cap, examining the size of the offer, industry sector, share returns and total returns including dividends. The results are surprising – while a few IPOs like Zomato and Sona BLW Precision Forgings have outperformed, most of the largest IPOs have failed to outperform the CNX 500 index. Some, like Reliance Power, have even delivered negative returns. CapitalMind examined IPOs and particularly large IPOs over the past two decades to understand the overall trend in the number of primary and secondary share sales, the size of their offers and, finally, the performance of the largest IPOs for investors. Poor performers: Eight of the 30 IPOs have delivered negative returns, with Reliance Power being the most prominent example. It was the biggest IPO at the time, but its performance has disappointed many investors. Among the top 30, only two of the top 10 IPOs have outperformed the CNX500 index. Coal India, whose price has nearly doubled in the last 14 years, still matches the index when considering its dividends. Zomato stands out: Zomato is the only IPO in the top 10 that has significantly outpaced market returns. Other successful IPOs among the top 30 include Hindustan Aeronautics, Indian Railway Finance Corp, Sona BLW Precision Forgings and ICICI Lombard. Recent IPO success: Five of the top 10 IPOs have emerged in the last two years, and most of them have performed well. Companies such as Bajaj Housing Finance, Bharti Hexacom and Brainbees (FirstCry) have benefited from favourable market conditions. Overall, mega-IPOs do not offer attractive returns. CapitalMind explains why this is so - there are several possible reasons. Large IPOs usually come when the market has been in a bullish phase for some time, so they are priced optimistically, keeping in mind the prevailing appetite for risk.