09 September,2026 03:24 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) might look to curtail its offer for sale (OFS) to 5.2 to 5.5 per cent in its proposed initial public offering (IPO), after some of the shareholders have backed out, reported news agency PTI.
As per the draft papers, NSE's offering was structured entirely as an OFS of up to 14.89 crore shares, roughly 6 per cent of the exchange's paid-up capital.
Some of the shareholders believe they could get a better valuation for the shares post the listing and are reluctant to offload their stake during the IPO.
The stock exchange had earlier proposed an OFS of 6 per cent in its massive Rs 30,000 crore IPO. However, with the latest development, the company's overall issue size might truncate to Rs 25,000-27,000 crore.
At this size, NSE may fall short of becoming India's largest-ever public offering. Hyundai Motor India's IPO, at Rs 27,870 crore, currently holds the record of largest-ever public offering in the country and with the reduced size NSE might be relegated behind the automaker.
To drive the participation from retail investors, the stock exchange is making the issue attractive, with pricing being structured to provide greater participation and benefit to small investors in the OFS. The revised IPO price band is expected to be in the range of Rs 1,700-1,785 per share, against an earlier estimated of Rs 2,000 per share.
The NSE IPO is likely to open for public subscription on September 18 and close on September 22, with the shares are likely to be listed on September 25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, as per the PTI report.
The stock exchange aims to list before the 'Pitru Paksha' period that begins on September 26, as the general perception is to avoid undertaking new ventures. Pitru Paksha is a 16-day long period when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors through prayers and food offerings.
Last week, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had given its approval to NSE for the public issue. NSE's IPO plan had been stalled for nearly a decade due to regulatory hurdles, including the co-location controversy.
According to PTI, NSE had filed its draft prospectus with SEBI in June, but the approval timeline slipped after SBI Capital Markets was added to the list of selling shareholders. This change that triggered a fresh 21-day public feedback window on the revised documents.
Since the issue is entirely an offer for sale, proceeds will flow to selling shareholders rather than to the exchange itself.
Among the top selling shareholders, State Bank of India will offload up to 2.48 crore shares, followed by MS Strategic (Mauritius) Limited with 1.60 crore shares.
Other key selling shareholders include Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd, General Insurance Corporation of India, The New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company.
However, it is not known which shareholders have backed out of the OFS.
The grey market premium of the stock exchange declined sharply. The GMP of the NSE IPO has witnessed a sharp correction, falling to Rs 221 on September 8 from Rs 310 on September 5. The grey market is a parallel market that is not backed by SEBI or the stock exchanges but it provides investors with an idea of how much the prices of a share are expected to increase post listing.
