NSE has officially filed its draft papers for the IPO with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), with the price band announcement now confirmed for Friday, September 11, at 3 PM, according to CNBC TV18 sources. The IPO will open for anchor investors on September 16 and for public subscription from September 17 to September 21, with NSE expected to list its shares on stock exchanges on September 24. At the upper end of the price band, NSE's IPO will be valued at around ₹22,569 crore, representing a lower valuation than the nearly ₹30,000 crore issue size that was earlier estimated for the IPO. The IPO is seeking to raise ₹21,494-22,569 crore via an offer for sale of 12.64 crore equity shares by existing shareholders, compared to the 14.9 crore shares planned earlier, as confirmed by the red herring prospectus. Some top investors are reducing their share sales as they expect better valuation in the secondary market post-listing, with National Insurance Co. of India, General Insurance Company, Stock Holding Corporation, MS Strategic (Mauritius) - a Morgan Stanley fund, and Singapore-based Mahogany Ltd among those cutting their planned share sales. In the informal market where unlisted shares trade, NSE prices have ranged from ₹1,985 to ₹2,100, showing a grey-market premium of ₹213 over the projected IPO price range.
State Bank of India (SBI) could turn a modest investment in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) into one of the most lucrative profit booking in India's IPO market, with the lender offering shares acquired at a weighted-average cost of just 80 paise each at a price of as much as ₹1,785. SBI is offering up to 1.6 crore NSE shares in the IPO, with the sale potentially fetching approximately ₹2,850 crore at the upper end of the price band, leading to an eye-popping return of 223,025%. SBI is offering ₹2,850.5 crore worth of shares, making it the largest stake sold in the IPO, assuming subscription at the upper price band. SBI held 79.85 million NSE shares, while SBI Capital Markets held 107.25 million shares, according to the offer documents, with SBI's weighted average acquisition cost of ₹0.80 per share compared with ₹0.38 for SBI Capital Markets. SBI Capital Markets is an associate of SBI and a book-running lead manager for the IPO, with the RHP stating it will be involved only in marketing because of the restrictions under Regulation 21A of the SEBI Merchant Bankers Regulations. If SBI sells the maximum number proposed, it would part with roughly one-fifth of its holding and retain approximately 63.88 million shares which would still be worth ₹11,400 crore at the upper end of the IPO price band.
The New India Assurance Company is offering up to 1.05 crore shares at a weighted-average acquisition cost of ₹0.32 per share, with the sale potentially fetching approximately ₹1,874 crore at ₹1,785, representing a gross return of 5,57,713%. Canada Pension Plan is offering ₹2,119.5 crore worth of shares, making it the second largest stake sold in the IPO. SBI Capital Markets is offering up to 8.78 crore shares, with its weighted-average acquisition cost of ₹0.38 per share, and the proposed sale could generate approximately ₹1,567 crore at the upper end of the price band, translating into a gross return of 4,69,637%. Aranda Investments of Mauritius is offering ₹2,007.4 crore worth of shares, while Stock Holding Corporation of India is offering up to 6.19 crore shares, acquired at a weighted-average cost of ₹0.46 per share, with the sale potentially generating approximately ₹1,104 crore at ₹1,785, representing a gross return of 3,87,943%. United India Insurance Company could fetch approximately ₹1,071 crore, translating into a return of 3,56,900%, while Bank of Baroda could make approximately ₹1,373 crore, representing a gross return of 3,30,456%. General Insurance Corporation of India's potential proceeds would be approximately ₹1,104 crore, implying a return of 33,835%.
NSE IPO price band has been fixed in the range of ₹1,700 to ₹1,785 per equity share of the face value of Re 1, with subscriptions opening on Thursday, September 17 and closing on Monday, September 24. The allocation to anchor investors for the NSE IPO is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 16, with the lot size set at 8 equity shares and in multiples of 8 thereafter. NSE IPO has reserved not more than 50% of the shares in the public issue for qualified institutional buyers (QIB), not less than 15% for non-institutional Institutional Investors (NII), and not less than 35% of the offer is reserved for retail investors. Tentatively, NSE IPO basis of allotment of shares will be finalised on Tuesday, September 22 and the company will initiate refunds on Wednesday, 23 September, while the shares will be credited to the demat account of allottees on the same day following refund. The stock exchange is expected to announce the official price range this week, with the Mumbai-based stock exchange looking to make the issue more attractive with pricing being structured to provide greater participation and benefit to small investors in the OFS. Eligible employees who will bid for the IPO have been given a discount of ₹170 per share, providing additional incentive for employee participation. The minimum investment by retail investors in the offer will be ₹14,280, while the maximum investment will be ₹1,99,920, with the exchange reserving shares worth up to ₹70 crore for its employees.
NSE maintains overwhelming dominance in India's cash equity trading, with BSE's management describing its cash equity market share as 7-8% band and calling it disappointing, with a stated goal of reaching double digits by early 2027. As reported by Equitymaster.com, NSE's platform was used to raise ₹4.78 trillion of equity and ₹15.55 trillion of debt in FY26. The exchange's scale is substantial, with companies listed on NSE carrying a combined market value of about ₹411 trillion, and passive funds tracking Nifty indices holding ₹8.14 trillion, accounting for 72.53% of India's passive fund assets. NSE handles nearly 99.79% of India's equity futures trading and 92.99% of its cash equity volume, demonstrating its monopolistic position in the Indian derivatives market. NSE's average daily traded value was ₹1.06 lakh crore during Fiscal 2026, more than 13 times BSE's ₹7,950 crore, with the exchange consistently maintaining its leadership position in cash market turnover, equity derivatives trading, and currency derivatives trading. NSE's unique registered investor base grew at a compound annual growth rate of 26.93% between March 2020 and March 2026, reaching 129.09 million unique registered investors as of March 2026, with 1,325 trading members and 2,978 listed entities. In FY26, total fund mobilisation through NSE stood at ₹20.33 lakh crore, while 108 mainboard IPOs were hosted on the exchange. NSE's post-issue market capitalisation would be around ₹4.4 lakh crore, with the exchange's total income rising to ₹18,713 crore in FY26 from ₹16,352 crore in FY24, while profit for the year stood at ₹10,302 crore.
NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan clarified that the IPO-bound exchange has not applied to the SEBI for permission to trade its own equity shares on its platform, as reported by IANS. Chauhan emphasized NSE's role in channelizing domestic household savings toward capital market investments since its establishment. "NSE is India's largest exchange and by many counts, it's one of the largest in the world. The purpose of NSE was also to channel savings into capital. It's a testament that NSE has fulfilled the mandate its founders started with," Chauhan stated at a press conference in Mumbai. He further highlighted NSE's vertically integrated structure and wide asset footprint. "We are among the largest vertically integrated exchanges in the sense that we own our technology. Some exchanges focus on commodities or equities. We are across asset classes, commodities, currencies, electricity, even charity," Chauhan explained. Addressing long-term sustainability concerns, NSE officials noted that the exchange did not determine or independently provide a justification for its high premium valuation, stating that "Premium valuation, we don't know. We have not given the justification. Everything has been decided through the merchant bankers, and we have priced it accordingly" as reported by IANS. The exchange cited the gradual evolution of India's capital markets and regulatory framework over the last thirty years, with market safeguards introduced by SEBI, including tighter compliance norms, having strengthened retail trust and encouraged greater participation.
