NSE receives Sebi's final observations for long-awaited IPO

India's markets regulator Sebi has cleared the National Stock Exchange's long-awaited initial public offering, paving the way for the country's largest bourse to make its stock market debut after nearly a decade of regulatory delays. NSE received Sebi's final observations on September 4, according to an update with the regulator. The exchange had filed its draft papers in June. Receiving Sebi's observations is a key regulatory milestone that allows a company to proceed with the next steps towards launching a public issue, subject to applicable requirements.

According to news agency PTI, the proposed IPO could be worth around Rs 30,000 crore, potentially making it one of the largest public issues in Indian stock market history. The public issue will be entirely an offer for sale of 14.89 crore shares, with existing shareholders collectively divesting nearly 6% of NSE's stake. The exchange itself will not receive any proceeds from the share sale. Among the major selling shareholders, State Bank of India will offload up to 2.48 crore shares, while MS Strategic (Mauritius) Limited will sell 1.60 crore shares. People familiar with the matter told PTI that the proposed issue size could imply a market capitalisation of more than Rs 5 lakh crore. The issue could surpass the previous record of Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,870 crore IPO launched in October 2024. As per Reuters, NSE's valuation in the unlisted market is estimated at about $55 billion, potentially placing it among India's 10 most valuable companies by market capitalisation.

NSE filed its draft red herring prospectus with Sebi on June 17, reviving a listing plan that had been held up since 2016 by regulatory scrutiny and legacy legal issues. The exchange's listing ambitions were delayed by investigations related to its co-location and dark-fibre facilities, along with other regulatory matters. Reuters reported that NSE's settlement of past lapses with Sebi removed a major obstacle to the IPO. NSE dominates India's equity derivatives market and is the world's most active derivatives exchange by contracts traded. It also operates India's benchmark Nifty 50 index. Its rival BSE went public in 2017, with its shares having surged 28-fold since then.