Sebi clears NSE's IPO papers, to be India's biggest so far

Mumbai witnessed the Sebi clearing the National Stock Exchange (NSE) IPO papers, marking it as India's most significant IPO yet. The IPO is projected to generate approximately Rs 30,000 crore, surpassing Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,870 crore offering in October 2024. This NSE IPO involves existing shareholders selling around 15 crore shares at a price band to be announced before the offer's opening.

NSE shares are currently trading between Rs 1,950 and Rs 2,050. If priced at the lower end of this range, the IPO would value NSE at around Rs 4.8 lakh crore, or around $51 billion. The largest seller in the IPO is the SBI group, which is offloading nearly 1.6 crore shares, with SBI Capital Markets contributing 87.8 lakh shares.

Other substantial sellers include MS Strategic (Mauritius) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. For over a decade, NSE had been aiming to go public but encountered regulatory obstacles and legal battles, including cases of preferential treatment to brokers, known as co-location and dark fibre cases. These were addressed in 2015, paving the way for NSE to proceed with its IPO plans.