NSE IPO One of India’s Largest IPO: Key Takeaways from the NSE DRHP

For years, market participants have been asking the same question:

"When will NSE finally go public?

As the largest financial exchange in India, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has long been the platform where others list. However, the path to getting itself listed on the stock market has not been an easy one for the exchange, but soon it will be over.

भारतीय मार्केटमध्ये इन्व्हेस्ट करा आणि 5paisa सह भविष्यातील क्षमता अनलॉक करा!

आत्ताच अकाउंट उघडा

After years of speculation and delays, NSE finally filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) on June 17, 2026. The offering is expected to be a landmark moment for India's stock market.

It would be the listing of a market leader that, as of March 2026, supported over 12.9 crore unique registered investors and nearly 3,000 listed entities with a combined market capitalisation of ₹4,11,25,000 crore.

Here's a closer look at what this much-awaited NSE IPO has to offer.

NSE IPO Is A Record-Breaking Offer

The size of the NSE IPO is manmonth. While the exact valuation would be finalised closer to the listing date, the DRHP confirms that this is one of the largest ever IPO filed with SEBI in India.

The offer is structured as a 100% Book Built Offer. It will consist of up to 148,905,525 equity shares.
Moreover, this is entirely an विक्रीसाठी ऑफर (OFS). In simple terms, this means the NSE itself is not issuing new shares to raise fresh capital. Instead, existing shareholders are selling their shares to the public.

Because it is an OFS, the utilisation of proceeds is straightforward: the NSE will not receive any money from the offer. Every rupee raised (after deducting offer-related expenses like banking fees and marketing) will go directly to the selling shareholders.

Who is Selling and Who is Staying?

NSE is not controlled by any one promoter or founding group. Instead, it is owned by a wide range of Indian and international financial institutions.

The Sellers: The DRHP lists several high-profile Corporate Selling Shareholders.

The State Bank of India (SBI) leads the selling shareholders, offering up to 2.48 crore shares for sale.

Other significant sellers include:

• MS Strategic (Mauritius) Ltd: Up to 1.60 crore shares
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB): Up to 1.19 crore shares
• Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd: Up to 1.12 crore shares
• Bank of Baroda: Up to 1.10 crore shares

Other major shareholders selling part of their stake include Stock Holding Corporation of India, which is offering 1.09 crore shares. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) will sell 1.07 crore shares, while The New India Assurance Company will offload 1.05 crore shares. Several other state-owned insurance companies are also participating in the offer.

The largest shareholder remains Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which holds a 10.72% stake in the exchange, equivalent to 26.53 crore shares.

Who is Not Selling?

Notably, LIC is not listed among the selling shareholders in the current DRHP. While many of its peers in the banking and insurance sectors are offloading portions of their holdings, LIC appears to be holding its position.

FY 2026 Results

To understand why market participants are so excited, we need to look at the NSE’s balance sheet. The financial results for the year ended March 31, 2026, reveal the exchange being exceptionally profitable.

• Revenue from Operations: The NSE generated ₹16,601.31 crore in revenue for FY26. While this was a slight decrease of 3.1% from the previous year—largely due to regulatory changes affecting trading volumes in derivatives—the core business remains robust.
• Profit After Tax (PAT): The bottom line remains healthy, with a PAT of ₹10,302.06 crore for the year.
• Profitability Margins: NSE is a highly profitable business. In FY26, it reported an adjusted operating EBITDA margin of 75.48% and a net profit margin of 55.05%, placing it among the most profitable stock exchanges in the world.

The exchange's financial strength is further seen by its dividend track record. For FY26, the board recommended a final dividend of ₹35 per share (a 3500% payout on a face value of ₹1), which includes a special one-time dividend.

Price Band, Lot Size, and Managers

For the individual investor, the "nitty-gritty" details are still being finalised. The Price Band and the minimum Bid Lot size have not been set yet. These will be decided by the NSE in consultation with its bankers at least two working days before the offer opens and will be widely advertised in national newspapers.

Even though the final timeline is yet to be announced, some of the biggest names in the investment banking industry have already been appointed to manage the IPO. The Book Running Lead Managers (BRLMs) for the issue include a group of 20 firms, such as:

1. Anand Rathi Advisors Ltd
2. Avendus Capital Private Ltd
3. एक्सिस केपिटल लिमिटेड
4. Citigroup Global Markets India Private Ltd
5. DAM Capital Advisors Ltd
6. Equirus Capital Ltd
7. एचडीएफसी बँक लि
8. HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Ltd
9. आयसीआयसीआय सेक्यूरिटीस लिमिटेड
10. IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd
11. IIFL Capital Services Ltd
12. J.P. Morgan India Private Ltd
13. JM Financial Ltd
14. Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd
15. Morgan Stanley India Company Private Ltd
16. मोतिलाल ओस्वाल इन्वेस्ट्मेन्ट एडवाइजर्स लिमिटेड
17. Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd
18. Pantomath Capital Advisors Private Ltd
19. एसबीआई केपिटल मार्केट्स लिमिटेड
20. 360 ONE WAM Ltd

Why Only on the BSE?

One of the most frequent questions regarding this IPO is: "If the NSE is an exchange, why can’t it list on its own platform?"

The answer lies in Indian regulatory policy. Under the SECC Regulations, a stock exchange is not permitted to "self-list". To prevent potential conflicts of interest where an exchange might be responsible for regulating itself as a listed entity, the rules mandate that it must list on a different recognised stock exchange. Consequently, NSE shares will be listed and traded exclusively on the BSE Ltd.

In fact, BSE Ltd operates in a similar way. Its shares are listed and traded on NSE, not on the BSE platform itself.

The Long Road: A Decade in the Making

The NSE’s journey to this IPO has been anything but a straight line. Plans for a public listing actually date back to 2016. However, the process was derailed and delayed for nearly a decade due to intense regulatory scrutiny.

The primary roadblocks were the co-location and dark fibre matters. These involved allegations of providing certain trading members with unfair preferential access to the exchange’s systems. The ensuing investigations by SEBI led to legal battles, appeals before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), and eventually the Supreme Court.

In March 2026, the NSE took a major step toward clearing its path by filing revised settlement terms with SEBI, proposing a cumulative settlement amount of ₹1,491.21 crore to resolve these long-standing issues. While the final outcome of these applications is still pending, the filing of the DRHP signals that the exchange is confident in its ability to move forward.

The Road Ahead: What Happens Next?

Now that the DRHP has been filed, the ball is in SEBI’s court. The regulator will conduct a thorough review of the draft prospectus and may seek additional clarifications or changes. This review process is critical, and SEBI’s "observations" will dictate the final shape of the offer.

Following regulatory approval, the process moves into its final stages:

1. Filing the RHP: The NSE will file its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP), which will include all final details except the price.
2. Announcing the Price Band: The specific price range for the shares will be made public.
3. Opening for Subscription: The IPO will finally open for investors (Retail, Institutional, and Employees) to bid for shares

अंतिम विचार

The NSE IPO is more than just a financial transaction; it is a symbol of the growing maturity and scale of the Indian economy. From its humble beginnings in 1992 as India's first demutualised electronic exchange, the NSE has become the world’s largest multi-asset class exchange by number of trades.

For investors, this IPO offers a chance to own a piece of the very infrastructure that powers India’s wealth creation. While risks - ranging from market volatility to ongoing legal settlements - remain, the NSE's dominant market share and robust profitability make it an entry that will be watched by the entire global financial community.