The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has approved the IPO of National Stock Exchange (NSE) alongside three other firms - RKB Global, Monomark Engineering (India), and Cosmic PV Power. According to the latest processing status of draft offer documents issued on Friday, September 4, NSE is expected to announce the price band for its IPO on September 11 and is looking to list in the third week of this month. The NSE IPO represents a historic demutualisation milestone, making it India's second-biggest announced share sale and marking the transformation of the world's largest derivatives exchange by trading volume into a public company. As per market estimates, 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 ₹5.26 lakh crore ($55 billion) through the IPO. Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited is acting as the coordinating lead manager for the mega issue. The grey market premium (GMP) for NSE shares has surged to ₹285 following the regulatory approval, jumping from around ₹250 earlier in the day, according to latest grey market data. Unlisted NSE shares were trading at around ₹1,940-2,035 recently, indicating strong investor interest ahead of the official launch.
National Stock Exchange of India has received Sebi observations for its proposed IPO, with the public issue being an entirely offer for sale (OFS) of 14.89 crore equity shares, representing nearly 6% of NSE's paid-up equity capital. As reported by NDTV Profit, NSE has appointed 20 banks to work on the IPO, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., JM Financial Ltd., Morgan Stanley, HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc. The exchange operates as the world's largest derivatives exchange by trading volume and is the undisputed leader of the financial ecosystem in India. The IPO is expected to be a monumental event that will draw massive institutional and retail interest, with the transformation to a public company through demutualisation reflecting a global trend, following the path of other prestigious exchanges like ASX and CME Group. The NSE is perhaps the only major institution-owned exchange operator that remains unlisted to date, with others generally being state-owned entities.
According to Reuters, large prospective investors, including Indian mutual funds, indicated they would be comfortable buying shares at around ₹1,800 apiece, with the formal price band likely to be set close to that level. NSE IPO GMP currently stands in the range of ₹273 to ₹285, indicating strong investor interest ahead of the official launch. Shivani Nyati, head of wealth at Swastika Investmart, noted that earlier readings were even lower, in the ₹150-200 range, before Sebi's approval boosted sentiment. She emphasized that "a positive GMP of this magnitude points to strong demand and bullish sentiment toward the issue." Ravi Singh, chief research officer at Master Capital Services, estimates that the price band could be in the ₹1,800 to ₹2,200 range per share. Market expert Anuj Gupta from IPO Watch suggests that "when a public issue hits the primary market, the company management offers some premium to investors, which ranges from 5% to 15%" and expects the NSE IPO price band at ₹1,800 to ₹1,900 if the exchange decides to give some premium to investors, or potentially ₹2,100 to ₹2,200 per share if NSE maximizes buzz around the public issue. The IPO could rank among India's biggest-ever, alongside billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio, with NSE valued at about $55 billion in the unlisted market. As per The Economic Times, grey market participants estimate the IPO size at around ₹30,000 crore, implying a market capitalisation of ₹5 lakh crore to ₹5.25 lakh crore. The listing will showcase the substantial worth of financial exchange operators in India and will make the institution-owned bourse among the top exchange operators globally by market value when its stock begins trading on the erstwhile broker-led Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
NSE shares could potentially trade on both BSE and NSE platforms following a surprising proposal raised during recent IPO roadshows with global investors. The mechanism being discussed would see NSE shares formally listed on BSE while simultaneously trading on NSE under the exchange's existing "permitted to trade" framework. This isn't a new concept - around 250 companies currently trade this way despite not being listed on NSE, including names such as Elantas Beck India Ltd, Goodyear India Ltd and Novartis India Ltd. NSE revised its index eligibility rules back in 2019 to allow permitted-to-trade securities to qualify for inclusion in its Nifty indices. Discussions on the proposal remain ongoing, and its fate rests entirely on whether Sebi gives it the green light. Should the arrangement be approved, NSE's shares would have BSE as their formal listing venue, while also being available for trading on NSE, potentially giving the stock access to liquidity across both exchanges and opening the door to inclusion in NSE's own benchmark indices.
The IPO structure is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of 14.89 crore equity shares, with SBI Group holding the largest stake among selling shareholders and offering up to 2.475 crore shares. Other significant sellers include MS Strategic (Mauritius) Ltd (1.60 crore shares), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) (1.19 crore shares), Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd (1.12 crore shares), Bank of Baroda (1.10 crore shares), and Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (1.09 crore shares). The latest approvals come at a time when India's IPO market is seeing a sharp revival after a slow first half of 2026, as reported by The Economic Times. The second half has seen issuers returning to the market as investor sentiment improved and recent listings delivered stronger returns. These approvals represent a notable increase in IPO activity compared to previous periods, highlighting the significant revival in India's IPO market during the second half of 2026. The NSE is targeting a listing in the week starting September 21, with the NSE IPO listing date may fall on 21 September 2026 at the earliest and 25 September 2026 at the latest. Keeping the mandatory 'T+3' listing rule, the NSE IPO allotment status may become public from 17 September 2026 to 23 September 2026, while the opening date can be expected on 14 September 2026 if listing on 21 September, or 18 September 2026 if listing on 25 September.
