National Stock Exchange’s $2.3 billion public issue opens for subscription after raising nearly $0.7 billion from anchor investors, with the exchange valued at up to $52.9 billion
The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) opened its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) for subscription on Thursday, kicking off one of India’s biggest-ever stock market listings and marking the culmination of a decade-long wait for the exchange to go public.
The Rs 22,569-crore issue translates to roughly $2.3 billion, based on the exchange rate used in the offering. The IPO comes with a price band of Rs 1,700-1,785 per equity share, with the upper end implying a valuation of around Rs 4.42 lakh crore, or approximately $52.9 billion.
The issue had been closely watched by investors, given NSE’s dominant position in India’s equity and derivatives markets and the growing scale of the country’s capital markets.
NSE IPO gets anchor backing
Ahead of the public subscription, NSE raised Rs 6,746.2 crore, or about $0.7 billion, from 150 anchor investors. The shares were allotted at Rs 1,785 apiece, the upper end of the IPO price band.
The anchor book attracted major global and domestic institutional investors, including Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Goldman Sachs and Fidelity.
Sovereign wealth funds including Singapore’s GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Norges Bank also participated in the allocation, underlining the international institutional interest in the offering.
More from BusinessForeign portfolio investors accounted for about 43 per cent of the anchor book, investing around Rs 2,883 crore, or roughly $0.3 billion. More than 20 foreign long-only funds participated, with investors from the US, Europe and Asia.
Domestic institutional participation was also significant. More than 25 large mutual funds and 11 major insurance and pension companies invested around Rs 3,588 crore, accounting for 53 per cent of the anchor book.
The participating mutual funds included ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Axis Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund, Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton, Edelweiss Mutual Fund and HSBC Mutual Fund.
LIC, SBI group participate
LIC, NSE’s largest shareholder with a 10.72 per cent stake, participated in the anchor allocation through LIC, LIC Mutual Fund and LIC Pension Fund. The three entities invested more than Rs 500 crore, equivalent to about $60 million.
The SBI group also participated through SBI Mutual Fund, SBI General Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and SBI Pension Fund. State Bank of India and SBI Capital Markets are selling a combined 1 per cent stake in NSE through the IPO, while the group’s investment in the anchor book exceeded ₹400 crore.
A decade-long wait ends
NSE’s public-market debut follows years of regulatory scrutiny and legal complications that repeatedly delayed its listing plans.
The exchange’s IPO arrives during a period of intense activity in India’s primary market. Several large companies are preparing to tap investors, including Jio Platforms, backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani and expected to list by the end of the year.
The NSE issue is also significant because it provides public-market investors with direct exposure to the operator of India’s largest stock exchange. The exchange’s business has benefited from the rapid expansion of India’s investor base, rising trading activity and the growth of derivatives markets.
