MUMBAI: The wait is over, finally. National Stock Exchange (NSE), the largest stock exchange in India, on Wednesday night filed papers with markets regulator Sebi for its initial public offer (IPO) through which, according to estimates, more than Rs 30,000 crore could be raised. This will make the NSE IPO the largest such offer in the country. For years, NSE had been trying to go public but faced several roadblocks.Currently, the Rs 27,859 crore IPO for Hyundai Motor India, which closed mid-Oct 2024, is the largest such offer in the country.
The NSE’s IPO would be an offer for sale (OFS) through which nearly 15 crore shares are being sold by 23 shareholders. The top 10 selling shareholders are State Bank of India, MS Strategic (Mauritius), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Aranda Investments (Mauritius), Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corp, General Insurance Corp, The New India Assurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance, the draft papers for the offer said.As of March 2026, LIC, with a 10.7% stake, was the largest shareholder in NSE. The largest life insurer in the country is not diluting its stake in the exchange. The SBI group was the second largest shareholder at 7.5%, held through two entities, SBI Capital Markets (4.3%) and SBI (3.2%).NSE’s draft IPO papers showed that two non-life insurance companies—The New India Assurance and National Insurance—are on track to make a 6,875-time return in the IPO. For these two insurers, who had bought NSE shares during the exchange’s formative days, the cost of acquisition was 32 paise each. Going by the expected price of Rs 2,200 per share in the IPO, they would make a 6,875-time return on their investments.SBI, the country’s largest bank, and one of the largest sellers in the IPO, is also expected to make a four-figure return. In early 1990s, SBI had acquired NSE shares at an average price of 80 paise. At Rs 2,200 per share, SBI would be making a 2,750-time return on its investments in a little over 30 years.
