Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch an initial public offering. According to reports from CNBC TV18, Reuters, Bloomberg, Moneycontrol, The Economic Times, Business Standard, The Hindu BusinessLine, and The Financial Express, the proposed IPO will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS), with parent Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) planning to sell up to 1.67 crore equity shares of ₹10 each. Since the issue does not include a fresh equity component, IGX will not receive any proceeds from the offering, with the entire proceeds going to selling shareholder IEX. The offering is described as a secondary-only IPO where IGX isn't issuing new shares, with the key market effect being increased free float - the portion of stock available to trade day to day, which usually improves liquidity and helps the market set a clearer price. If the listing materialises, IGX will become the first gas exchange to be listed on the stock market. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, the primary objective of the IPO is to achieve benefits of listing, which the company expects will enhance visibility, strengthen brand image and provide a public market for its shares. IGX Managing Director and CEO Rajesh Kumar Mediratta confirmed that the company had postponed its IPO by a year after obtaining an extension from the regulator, with the exchange now targeting to launch the public issue before December 2026. The company will reserve half of the net offer for qualified institutional buyers, 35% for retail investors and 15% for non-institutional investors, with shares set to be listed on both NSE and BSE. Axis Capital and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors have been appointed as the book-running lead managers to the issue, with KFin Technologies Ltd serving as the registrar, though the subscription timeline for the offer has not been disclosed yet.
The stake sale is aimed at complying with regulatory norms, as reported by CNBC TV18, Reuters, Bloomberg, Moneycontrol, The Economic Times, Business Standard, The Hindu BusinessLine, and The Financial Express. IEX currently holds 47.3% in IGX and plans to reduce its shareholding to 25%, which is the maximum ownership permitted for any shareholder that is not a member of a gas exchange. This regulatory compliance move will bring IEX's ownership in IGX in line with the permissible limits for non-gas exchange members. The listing would push IGX toward more dispersed ownership, driven by regulation rather than a need for fresh capital, giving investors a more transparent way to think about IEX's remaining 25% stake since that holding would have an observable market value rather than being judged mainly through IEX's overall share price. IGX noted in its DRHP that while its promoter is proposing to divest a portion of its shareholding through the offer, it will continue to hold a significant equity stake in the company after the offer and exercise significant influence over business policies and affairs. This regulatory compliance ensures IGX operates within the framework of the Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Gas Exchange) Regulations, 2020.
IGX has demonstrated robust trading performance in Q1 FY27, with gas volume of 27.48 million mBtu (692.70 MSCM) representing a significant 47.94% quarter-on-quarter increase and 11.91% year-on-year growth. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, this strong performance underscores the exchange's growing market presence and operational efficiency. The filing also puts a spotlight on IGX's recent growth trajectory, with the strong financial performance supporting the IPO decision. Cumulative traded volumes grew at a CAGR of 37.12% to 76.79 million Metric Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) in FY26 from 40.84 million MMBtu in FY24, showcasing significant expansion in trading activity. For the financial year ended March 2026, the company reported revenue from operations of ₹61 crore, compared with ₹48.8 crore in FY25 and ₹34.8 crore in FY24, as per The Hindu BusinessLine.
IGX operates India's first online platform for natural gas trading, providing a comprehensive marketplace across 19 delivery points including 6 LNG terminals, 9 domestic gas field landfall points and 4 pipeline interconnections. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, the platform facilitates delivery-based trading in ten standardised natural gas contracts - Intraday, Day-Ahead, Daily, Weekday, Weekly, Fortnightly and Monthly (up to 12 months), Balance of Month and two Long Duration Contracts-3 Months and 6 Months. The exchange currently offers day-ahead and five term-ahead contracts, with longer-duration contracts contributing less than 5% of total traded volumes in FY26, while monthly contracts accounted for 59% of volumes during the first nine months of FY26. IGX facilitates price discovery reflective of Indian natural gas supply and demand, showcased by its benchmark price index, GIXI, and operates under the regulatory framework of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). Unlike several international gas exchanges where a significant share of contracts are financially settled, IGX operates a physical delivery-based market and also provides forward contracts with tenures of up to six months.
IGX operates an electronic marketplace for natural gas, facilitating spot, forward and delivery-based contracts, according to CNBC TV18, Reuters, Bloomberg, Moneycontrol, The Economic Times, Business Standard, The Hindu BusinessLine, and The Financial Express. Apart from IEX, the exchange's shareholders include NSE Investments with a 24.75% stake as the largest public shareholder, followed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, GAIL (India), Torrent Gas, Adani Total Gas, Indian Oil Corporation, and IGX ISOS Trust. Other notable shareholders include GAIL, ONGC, Indian Oil, Adani Total Gas, and Torrent Gas. Beyond gas contracts, IGX also plans to launch a platform for booking regasified liquefied natural gas (R-LNG) capacity, besides introducing a hydrogen index and hydrogen trading platform. As of March 31, 2026, IGX offered 10 standardised natural gas contracts and four small-scale liquefied natural gas (ssLNG) contracts, serving a wide range of participants across the natural gas value chain including gas producers, gas marketing companies, city gas distribution companies, power generation companies, refineries, fertiliser companies, LNG terminal operators and industrial consumers. The company is mandated to comply with the regulatory requirements of the Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Gas Exchange) Regulations, 2020, and faces several key risks including an inability to maintain or grow trading volumes on its electronic exchange platform, disruptions in natural gas supply, changes in gas sector policies in India, and loss of access to the natural gas pipeline.
