Every week during IPO season, my phone fills up with the same forwarded message: a screenshot of a "GMP ₹40" from some Telegram channel, followed by "Sir, apply karu kya?" (should I apply?). I never answer that question directly — not because I'm being difficult, but because "apply or not" isn't actually the useful question. The useful question is: what does this specific IPO's structure tell me, and does it match what I'm looking for? This week there are five mainboard IPOs and two SME IPOs open or opening — a genuinely large basket for one week. So instead of commenting on each one individually, I'm going to show you the exact framework I run every single one of them through, using this week's real names as the worked example. By the end, you'll be able to do this yourself for next week's basket too.
01. The basket, in 60 seconds
Seven IPOs are live this week: five mainboard (Pranav Constructions, Glass Wall Systems, Kanohar Electricals, Prasol Chemicals, Asset Reconstruction Company of India) and two SME (Apana Logistics, Amtech Esters). Combined mainboard issue size is roughly ₹3,065 crore — a heavy week.
The single most useful lens across all seven: how much of the money you pay actually goes into the company (fresh issue) versus how much goes straight into an existing shareholder's pocket (offer for sale, or OFS). One of this week's IPOs is a 100% OFS — the company itself receives zero rupees from your application. That's not automatically bad, but it changes what you're actually paying for, and I'll show you exactly how to check this for any IPO going forward.
Nothing below is a recommendation to apply to any of these IPOs. It's a way to read the paperwork so the decision is yours, made with the actual numbers in front of you instead of a grey-market screenshot.
02. Why "GMP ₹40" is not an answer
Grey Market Premium gets treated like a verdict. It isn't. GMP is an unregulated, unofficial, pre-listing price quoted informally by a small set of grey-market dealers, on low volumes, with no exchange oversight and no obligation that it holds till listing day. I've watched GMP evaporate between the day subscription closes and the day the stock actually lists — sentiment shifts, broader markets move, and a number that looked exciting on Tuesday means nothing by Wednesday morning.
That doesn't mean ignore market sentiment entirely — subscription data (how many times an issue is covered, and by which investor category: retail, NII, or QIB) is genuine, exchange-reported information and is worth watching. GMP is not. Treat the two very differently.
03. This week's basket at a glance
| Company | Type | Opens | Closes | Price Band | Issue Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pranav Constructions | Mainboard | Sep 7 | Sep 9 | ₹118–₹124 | ₹351 Cr |
| Glass Wall Systems | Mainboard | Sep 8 | Sep 10 | ₹172–₹182 | ₹428 Cr |
| Kanohar Electricals | Mainboard | Sep 8 | Sep 10 | ₹601–₹632 | ₹1,056 Cr |
| Prasol Chemicals | Mainboard | Sep 8 | Sep 10 | ₹643–₹676 | ₹500 Cr |
| Asset Reconstruction Co. (India) | Mainboard | Sep 9 | Sep 11 | ₹132–₹139 | ₹733 Cr |
| Apana Logistics | SME | Sep 7 | Sep 9 | ₹60 (fixed) | ₹34 Cr |
| Amtech Esters | SME | Sep 9 | Sep 11 | ₹71–₹75 | ₹18 Cr |
A sixth mainboard IPO, LCC Projects, is also expected to open around September 9 but had not fixed its price band as of writing — I've left it out of the analysis below until that's confirmed, deliberately, because analysing a price that doesn't exist yet is how bad numbers get repeated online.
04. The framework: Fresh Issue vs. OFS — who actually gets your money
Every IPO prospectus splits the issue into two buckets. Fresh issue money goes to the company's own balance sheet — for capacity expansion, debt repayment, working capital. Offer for sale (OFS) money goes straight to existing shareholders — promoters, private equity, or family trusts — who are selling shares they already own. Both are legal, disclosed, and normal. But they answer completely different questions: fresh issue tells you the company needs capital to grow; a heavy OFS tells you an existing owner wants liquidity. Neither is automatically good or bad — but you should know which one you're funding before you apply.
| Company | Fresh Issue | OFS | Fresh Issue Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pranav Constructions | ₹315.6 Cr | ₹35.4 Cr | ~90% |
| Kanohar Electricals | ₹300 Cr | ₹756 Cr | ~28% |
| Prasol Chemicals | ₹80 Cr | ₹420 Cr | ~16% |
| Glass Wall Systems | ₹60 Cr | ₹368 Cr | ~14% |
| Asset Reconstruction Co. | ₹0 | ₹733 Cr | 0% |
Dheeraj's take: Asset Reconstruction Company's issue is 100% OFS — every rupee you pay goes to the selling shareholder (a private equity fund and SBI trimming their stake), and the company itself doesn't receive a single rupee to grow its book. That's not disqualifying — plenty of well-run, mature businesses list this way, and this one has genuinely strong margins on paper. But it does mean you're buying pure secondary liquidity for the seller, not funding expansion. Know that distinction before you read the rest of the prospectus.
05. The five mainboard names, one page each
Pranav Constructions — Mumbai redevelopment
A Mumbai-focused real estate developer specialising in redevelopment of existing residential buildings across the MCGM region (economical to aspirational housing segments), using an in-house, capital-efficient execution model rather than outsourcing construction.
| Revenue (FY26 / FY25 / FY24) | ₹764 Cr / ₹638 Cr / ₹450 Cr |
| PAT (FY26 / FY25) | ₹71.3 Cr / ₹62.3 Cr |
| PAT Margin (FY26) | 9.4% |
| Post-IPO P/E | ~19.6x |
| Fresh issue use | Redevelopment funding (₹146 Cr), debt repayment (₹91.5 Cr) |
Glass Wall Systems — façade and fenestration
A façade-solutions and glass fenestration company (design, engineering, installation) operating in India, the US and Australia, with a fenestration subsidiary under the ORIA brand.
| Revenue (FY26 / FY25) | ₹471 Cr / ₹288 Cr |
| PAT (FY26 / FY25) | ₹83.8 Cr / ₹57.5 Cr |
| EBITDA Margin (FY26) | 23.0% |
| Post-IPO P/E | ~19.1x |
| Fresh issue use | Glass-processing capex at Vile Bhagad (backward integration) |
Kanohar Electricals — power transformers
Manufactures transformers for power transmission, railways, renewable energy and distribution utilities, from two Meerut facilities with a combined 19,200 MVA capacity.
| Revenue (FY26 / FY25) | ₹663 Cr / ₹457 Cr |
| PAT (FY26 / FY25) | ₹129.7 Cr / ₹65.1 Cr |
| EBITDA Margin / ROE (FY26) | 27.6% / 42.1% |
| Post-IPO P/E | ~38.6x |
| Fresh issue use | Capex ₹64 Cr, working capital ₹155 Cr |
Dheeraj's take: Kanohar's growth numbers (PAT nearly doubling) are genuinely strong, and the sector tailwind — transformer demand from grid upgrades and renewable capacity addition — is real and well documented. But at ~39x post-issue earnings, the price already assumes a good chunk of that growth continues. That's a valuation question you have to answer for yourself against sector peers, not something I'll answer for you here.
Prasol Chemicals — specialty chemicals
A 1992-vintage specialty chemicals manufacturer (acetone-based, phosphorous-based and other specialty chemicals — 150 products across the three lines) exporting to 69 countries, serving pharma, agrochemical, paint, ink, adhesive and personal-care customers from two Maharashtra plants.
| Revenue (FY26 / FY25 / FY24) | ₹1,238 Cr / ₹1,016 Cr / ₹888 Cr |
| PAT (FY26 / FY25 / FY24) | ₹83.1 Cr / ₹43.6 Cr / ₹18.1 Cr |
| EBITDA Margin (FY26) | 11.3% |
| Debt-to-Equity | 0.19 |
| Fresh issue use | Debt repayment (₹60 Cr) |
Asset Reconstruction Company (India) — India's first ARC
India's first asset reconstruction company (RBI-registered since 2003), buying stressed loans from banks across corporate, SME and retail books and running recovery/resolution on them. This is a 100% OFS issue — see Section 4.
| Revenue (FY26 / FY25) | ₹785 Cr / ₹623 Cr |
| PAT (FY26) | ₹408 Cr |
| PAT Margin / EBITDA Margin | 52.0% / 78.2% |
| Structure | 100% Offer for Sale — no funds to the company |
The two SME names, briefly
Apana Logistics (fixed price ₹60, ₹34 Cr issue) and Amtech Esters (₹71–₹75 band, ₹18 Cr issue) are both SME-platform listings — a different regulatory track from mainboard IPOs, with lighter disclosure norms, thinner post-listing liquidity, and typically much higher retail lot sizes in rupee terms. I've written a full comparison of SME vs. mainboard mechanics separately [INTERNAL LINK] — read that before treating an SME IPO the same way you'd treat a mainboard one.
06. Before you apply to anything this week — a five-point self-check
- Fresh issue share: Is most of the money funding growth (fresh issue) or funding an exit (OFS)? Neither is disqualifying, but know which one you're in.
- Post-issue P/E vs. listed peers: Look up two listed comparable companies in the same sector and compare the post-IPO P/E. A premium can be justified — but only if you can say why.
- Use of proceeds line-item: "General corporate purposes" as the dominant use is a weaker signal than a named capex project or specific debt repayment.
- Promoter shareholding after listing: A promoter group diluting sharply in one issue is a different signal from one retaining 75%+ post-IPO.
- Your own lot-size exposure: Check the actual rupee amount for a minimum lot before applying — it ranges from roughly ₹14,500 to ₹15,000 across this week's mainboard names, similar-looking on the surface but very different businesses underneath.
07. Quick glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| GMP | Grey Market Premium — an unofficial, unregulated pre-listing price indicator; not exchange-reported and not reliable on its own. |
| OFS | Offer for Sale — shares sold by an existing shareholder; proceeds go to that seller, not the company. |
| Fresh Issue | New shares issued by the company; proceeds go onto the company's own balance sheet. |
| ASBA | Applications Supported by Blocked Amount — your bid amount is blocked, not debited, until allotment. |
| Lot size | The minimum number of shares you must apply for; retail investors can typically apply in multiples of one lot. |
| Post-issue P/E | Price-to-earnings ratio calculated on the fully diluted share count after the IPO, used to sanity-check the ask price against earnings. |
08. Frequently asked questions
Should I apply to any of this week's IPOs?
That depends on your own risk appetite, portfolio allocation and conviction on each specific business — not on anything in this article. This is a framework for reading the paperwork, not a recommendation for or against any of these seven names.
Is a 100% OFS IPO automatically a red flag?
No. It simply means the company itself isn't raising growth capital in this round — you're buying from an existing shareholder who wants liquidity. Many stable, profitable businesses list this way. It changes the "why" of the listing, not automatically the quality of the business.
Does a high GMP mean the IPO will list well?
Not reliably. GMP is an unofficial, thinly-traded, unregulated indicator that can and does move sharply — including reversing — between issue closing and the actual listing day.
Is an SME IPO riskier than a mainboard IPO?
SME IPOs sit on a different regulatory framework with lighter disclosure requirements and typically thinner post-listing trading volumes, which generally makes them higher-risk and less liquid than mainboard listings. That doesn't make every SME IPO a bad investment — it means the homework required is different.
If you want a second pair of eyes on any specific IPO's prospectus this week — mine or otherwise — before you apply, message us on WhatsApp and we'll walk through the numbers together.