Overview
- NSE formally filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI on Wednesday for an initial public offering structured entirely as an offer‑for‑sale of up to 148,905,525 shares, about 6% of paid‑up capital.
- The DRHP names State Bank of India, MS Strategic/Morgan Stanley, CPP, Bank of Baroda, GIC Re, SHCIL and several public insurers as selling shareholders while confirming Life Insurance Corporation of India will not sell.
- Market indications and DRHP disclosures imply an indicative valuation near Rs 5 lakh crore and press estimates put potential proceeds around Rs 30,000 crore, though final size will depend on SEBI review and book‑building.
- NSE’s DRHP includes FY26 financials showing strong profitability and high trading volumes, and the exchange has appointed roughly 20 merchant bankers to run the sale and planned to list the shares on the BSE because exchanges cannot self‑list.
- The filing follows a long delay caused by the co‑location governance dispute, a 2025 settlement with SEBI, and the regulator’s in‑principle clearance in January 2026, and the IPO will create liquidity for long‑held stakes while leaving initial free float limited.