The National Stock Exchange (NSE) IPO size has been reduced to ₹23,000 crore from the earlier ₹30,000 crore target as shareholders withdraw from the Offer For Sale (OFS). The OFS size has been cut to 5.25% of total equity from the originally planned 6%, with some shareholders choosing not to sell as they believe they could command better valuations later. Public-sector insurance companies that had planned to sell NSE shares have lowered the number of shares proposed to be offered, while an entity associated with Morgan Stanley has also cut its planned stake sale. The grey market premium currently stands at around ₹228, with the shares last trading at ₹2,024 apiece in the unlisted market. The IPO was estimated at around ₹30,000 crore when NSE submitted its original draft papers in June, making this a significant reduction in the proposed offering size.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has finalized its IPO price range at ₹1,700-1,785 per share, with the price band expected to be announced on Friday, September 11 and the IPO opening for subscription later in the week. The exchange is likely to price its shares at ₹1,700-1,785 apiece, with the proposed size reduced to ₹23,000 crore from the earlier ₹30,000 crore target. At the top of the proposed range, the sale of a 5.25% stake would raise about ₹23,000 crore, falling short of the ₹27,870 crore raised by Hyundai Motor India Ltd. in 2024 in the country's largest-ever IPO. The valuation has been reduced to as much as ₹4.4 lakh crore, down from the previously targeted ₹5 lakh crore valuation. The expected price range follows the response from institutional investors during roadshows, with sources noting that it has been made more attractive for small investors to benefit in OFS. The shares may list on the BSE on September 25, with the grey market premium standing at around ₹228 as of Wednesday, according to The Times of India.
Despite the IPO size reduction to ₹23,000 crore from the original ₹30,000 crore target, the institutional book has seen interest of around ₹85,000 crore, underscoring strong demand from large investors. The NSE filing is a key step towards the exchange's long-awaited listing, nearly a decade after it first began the IPO process. The NSE IPO is likely to open for public subscription on September 18 and close on September 22, with the shares likely to be listed on September 25, as sources stated. The listing is targeted before the 'Pitru Paksha' period that begins on September 26. The NSE IPO is expected to be worth more than ₹30,000 crore, while the stock exchange is seeking a valuation of as much as ₹5 lakh crore through the IPO, according to Bloomberg reports citing people familiar with the matter. As per Hebe Chen, a senior market analyst at Vantage Global Prime, "The bar to win investors over has moved higher, not just for this IPO but for Indian equities more broadly after a year of underperforming many of its Asian peers."
Indian Bank is proposing to sell up to 15 lakh NSE shares through an Offer for Sale (OFS) as part of the National Stock Exchange of India's proposed IPO. The stake sale represents 17.91% of Indian Bank's holding in NSE and is subject to regulatory approvals, with the bank executing the consent letter for the transaction on September 9 and the sale expected to be completed by the end of September. New India Assurance plans to divest 1.05 crore NSE shares, representing 29.83% of its holding. Bank of Baroda is also looking to sell up to 76.90 lakh shares, equivalent to 35% of its NSE stake. The shares were transferred to an escrow account on September 8, with the transaction expected to be completed by the end of September. Bank of Baroda had received ₹76.90 crore in dividends from NSE for FY26, according to its latest disclosure. NSE reported ₹3,120 crore in consolidated profit after tax for Q1 FY27, representing a 7% increase from ₹2,924 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. The exchange's total income increased 13% year-on-year to ₹4,560 crore in the April-June quarter of FY27 from ₹4,032 crore logged a year ago.
Investor concerns about NSE's growth prospects have intensified following regulatory crackdowns on derivatives trading, with the regulator's crackdown last year on Jane Street Group, coupled with other measures to curb excessive speculation, cooling the derivatives market that had made India the world's leading options hub. The average daily notional turnover for futures and options on the NSE hit a 18-month low in August, according to exchange data, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. Retail investors lost over $40 billion in equity derivatives over five years through March 2026, drawing greater scrutiny of a market that pits small traders against global firms. The derivatives trading has been very profitable for NSE, generating a profit margin of about 62% on revenue of ₹166 billion in the year ended March 2026, though this has narrowed from about 71% a year earlier. Options trading accounts for about 60% of operating revenue, but this model is becoming harder to sustain as smaller rival BSE Ltd. is gaining market share in the options segment.
NSE has filed an updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) for its upcoming IPO with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), with the revised filing proposing cutting the IPO size to around ₹23,000 crore from the earlier plan of ₹30,000 crore. The offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders is likely to represent around 5.25% of the exchange's paid-up capital, compared with about 6% planned earlier. NSE is targeting a launch in the third week of September, with the shares likely to list in the fourth week, people familiar with the development said. The issue is likely to open for anchor investors on September 17. At ₹30,000 crore, NSE's IPO was set to become India's largest ever, surpassing Hyundai Motor India's ₹27,870-crore issue in October 2024. With the proposed reduction in issue size, Hyundai Motor India is likely to retain the record until Jio Platforms launches its proposed ₹37,000-crore IPO, expected around the Navratri-Diwali period.
