NSE IPO: IFCI, New India Assurance, other stocks rally up to 9% as Rs 22,569 crore IPO opens. How much exposure do they have?

Shares of IFCI, New India Assurance Company (NIACL) and few other stocks rallied up to 9% on Thursday as the much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened for public bidding, boosting investor sentiment for the stocks that have exposure to the exchange.

While the Rs 22,569 crore IPO opened on Thursday, the unlisted shares of NSE traded with around a 7% grey market premium (GMP) over the IPO price, indicating a decent market debut.

Also read | Can NSE IPO deliver long-term growth for high-risk investors?

Why are IFCI, NIACL shares rallying?

IFCI shares rallied around 8% to trade at Rs 80.97 apiece on the NSE. The company owns more than a 50% stake in Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL), which in turn holds over a 4% stake in NSE and is selling nearly 62 lakh shares as part of the stock exchange’s offer for sale. Through its controlling interest in SHCIL, IFCI has indirect exposure to NSE.

NIACL shares, meanwhile, recorded the sharpest gains among the lot, surging more than 9% to trade at Rs 201.24 apiece. According to the IPO papers, the government-owned insurer, NIACL, will offload 1.05 crore NSE shares through the offer-for-sale. It held a 1.42% stake in NSE ahead of its maiden public issue.

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) is selling around 61.88 lakh shares as part of the OFS component of the IPO. The company held a nearly 2% stake in NSE ahead of the IPO. GIC shares jumped nearly 3% to trade at around Rs 347 apiece on Thursday.

Maithan Alloys shares gained more than 5%. While the company is not a selling shareholder in the IPO, it owns a 0.17% stake in NSE.

Read more: NSE IPO Tracker: Catch all the highlights here

Key things to know about NSE IPO

NSE’s much-awaited IPO opened for public bidding today. The maiden public issue of the stock exchange entirely comprises an offer for sale of 12.64 crore shares at a price band of Rs 1,700-1,785 per share. This means that none of the IPO proceeds will go to NSE, as they will be received by the selling shareholders.

The IPO will remain open for public bidding from September 17 to September 21. NSE shares are scheduled to debut on BSE on September 24. At a minimum lot size of 8 shares, the minimum retail application amount comes to Rs 14,280, while the post-issue market capitalisation is likely to be around Rs 4.42 lakh crore at the upper end of the price band.

A day before the IPO opened for public bidding, NSE announced that it raised Rs 6,746 crore from more than 150 anchor investors. Foreign portfolio investors accounted for Rs 2,883 crore, or 43% of the anchor book. More than 20 foreign long-only funds participated, with the list including Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Norges Bank. Domestic institutional demand was also broad-based, with more than 25 mutual funds and 11 insurance and pension companies investing around Rs 3,588 crore, or 53% of the anchor book.

LIC, NSE's largest shareholder with a 10.72% stake, invested more than Rs 500 crore through LIC, LIC Mutual Fund and LIC Pension Fund. The investment comes even as LIC's existing holding is larger than the stake being offered in the IPO. The SBI group, which is selling a 1% stake in NSE through State Bank of India and SBI Capital Markets, also invested in the exchange through SBI Mutual Fund, SBI General, SBI Life and SBI Pension Fund. Its combined investment exceeds Rs 400 crore.

Also read | NSE IPO attracts 150+ anchor investors, raises Rs 6,746 crore

Should you apply for NSE IPO?

Angel One has a ‘Subscribe’ rating for NSE IPO. The domestic brokerage noted that the stock exchange is a technology-driven market infrastructure institution and has been India’s largest stock exchange by total turnover in the cash market and equity derivatives from FY01 to FY26. The company operates across equity cash, equity derivatives, currency derivatives, commodity derivatives and debt markets, with transaction charges forming the core revenue stream at 78.65% of fiscal 2026 revenue from operations, of which options alone contributed 60.22%, it added.

At the upper price band of Rs 1,785, NSE is valued at a post-issue P/E of 35.4x, compared with BSE’s P/E of 54.2x, making the issue attractive relative to its key listed peer, Angel One said, adding that NSE’s dominant market position, significantly higher revenue and profitability, strong market share in equity derivatives, and long-term structural growth in Indian capital markets provide further comfort.

“Despite near-term regulatory headwinds to derivatives volumes, we believe the valuation offers a favourable entry point given the company’s strong competitive position and earnings potential,” the domestic brokerage further said.

Also read | NSE IPO opens with 9% GMP. Should you subscribe to Rs 22,569 crore issue?

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.