Those who have bought unlisted shares of Tata Capital in the run-up to its initial public offer (IPO) are facing losses as the price band is set at a third of the price prevailing over the last several months on unlisted shares trading platforms.
Tata Capital’s IPO price band has been fixed in the range ₹310-326, while its unlisted shares have been trading above ₹1,000 from April 2024 to June 2025, after which it started declining a bit. Even on September 28, Tata Capital’s shares were being quoted at over ₹700, before crashing to ₹300-odd levels.
Several people, including some elderly investors, are now stuck holding on to these high-priced shares.
Investment advisor Sandip Sabharwal, said on microblogging platform X, “TataCapital #IPO should finally break the back of the Unlisted Stock Punting game. Stock was ramped up to ₹1,100 in the unlisted market right through 2024 and early parts of 2025. IPO Price is one third of this price.”
Trend
Punting on unlisted shares of high-profile companies has gained currency over the last few years as investors expect to get them at substantial discounts to their public listing price.
Over a one-year time frame, Tata Capital’s shares have fallen 70 per cent – due to today’s crash – and 59 per cent over a one-month period.
Several platforms have sprung up for unlisted shares, and an exuberance has been created. “There are no proper price discovery and transactions are usually negotiated, based on perception,” said Kranthi Bathini, Director, Wealthmills Securities.
Such unregulated trading has prompted Securities and Exchange Board of India to moot the development of a platform for unlisted shares that would increase transparency and improve price discovery for pre-IPO companies.