Reviewed on 24 Oct 2026 · Source: IPO Bulletin explainer; checked against offer-document capital structure disclosures
Pre-issue and post-issue shareholding describe how the ownership of a company is divided before and after its IPO. The pre-issue table shows the percentages held by promoters, promoter group, venture funds, employees and other early investors. The post-issue table shows how those percentages change after the IPO has added new shares from a fresh issue and some existing shares have been sold in an offer for sale. Typically, the promoter percentage falls, and a new category called the public, made up of IPO investors, appears or grows. The comparison tells you whether the company is raising capital for itself or whether insiders are using the IPO to sell, and it shows how much control the promoters retain. It is also used to compute the market capitalisation at the issue price, which is the post-issue number of shares multiplied by the price. The tables are in the capital structure and objects-of-issue sections of the RHP, and they are mentioned on IPO Bulletin’s IPO pages in a simplified form. Check the footnotes, because some holders are classified as promoter group rather than public.
Example: Before the IPO, promoters hold 90 percent and a fund holds 10 percent of 10 crore shares. The company issues 2.5 crore fresh shares. Post-issue, the total is 12.5 crore: promoters 72 percent, the fund 8 percent and the public 20 percent.
Pre-issue and post-issue shareholding describe how the ownership of a company is divided before and after its IPO. The pre-issue table shows the percentages held by promoters, promoter group, venture funds, employees and other early investors. The post-issue table shows how those percentages change after the IPO has added new shares from a fresh issue and some existing shares have been sold in an offer for sale. Typically, the promoter percentage falls, and a new category called the public, made up of IPO investors, appears or grows. The comparison tells you whether the company is raising capital for itself or whether insiders are using the IPO to sell, and it shows how much control the promoters retain. It is also used to compute the market capitalisation at the issue price, which is the post-issue number of shares multiplied by the price. The tables are in the capital structure and objects-of-issue sections of the RHP, and they are mentioned on IPO Bulletin's IPO pages in a simplified form. Check the footnotes, because some holders are classified as promoter group rather than public.
A fresh issue is the part of an IPO in which the company creates and sells new shares, so the money raised goes to the company itself. Because new shares are added, the total number of shares outstanding rises, and the ownership of existing shareholders, including the promoters, is diluted. The proceeds are used for the purposes stated in the offer document under objects of the issue, such as building a factory, repaying debt, funding working capital, expanding a brand or general corporate purposes. Many IPOs combine a fresh issue with an offer for sale, and the split between the two is a useful clue. A larger fresh issue suggests that the company is raising capital to grow, whereas a mostly offer-for-sale issue means existing shareholders are cashing out, and the company receives little. Investors should read the objects of the issue carefully, check how much is earmarked for debt repayment compared with expansion, and see whether proceeds from the issue are expected to raise earnings per share in the coming years. The size of the fresh issue is stated in the price band announcement.
Worked example
Before the IPO, promoters hold 90 percent and a fund holds 10 percent of 10 crore shares. The company issues 2.5 crore fresh shares. Post-issue, the total is 12.5 crore: promoters 72 percent, the fund 8 percent and the public 20 percent.
