NSE IPO: Sebi approval likely soon, says chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey

The much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) could be closer to launch.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has said the regulator is close to approving the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed by the exchange for its IPO.

The exchange filed its draft prospectus in June for an offering that will consist entirely of secondary share sales. Existing shareholders plan to sell as many as 148.9 million shares, representing about 6% of the company, according to the filing.


State Bank of India, MS Strategic (Mauritius) Limited, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited, General Insurance Corporation of India, The New India Assurance Company Ltd., National Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited are among the selling shareholders in the offer for sale.

The exchange was initially expecting approval from market regulator SEBI for its draft prospectus by early August. However, the timeline was pushed back by about three weeks following changes to the list of selling shareholders, with SBI Capital Markets Ltd. being added.

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Earlier this month, a Bloomberg report said NSE is seeking a valuation of as much as Rs 5.26 lakh crore ($55 billion) in its planned IPO.

NSE, the operator of the world's largest derivatives exchange by trading volume, held several investor meetings across Boston, New York, San Francisco, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter. The meetings involved about 120 large global investors, including BlackRock Inc., Capital Group, GQG Partners, Janus Henderson Group Plc and Allspring Global Investments, the report said.

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At the top of the marketed range, NSE would rank sixth in market value among global exchange operators, narrowly behind London Stock Exchange Group Plc and just ahead of Nasdaq Inc. CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. are currently at the top of the list, with market values of about $97 billion and $86.9 billion, respectively.

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