NEW DELHI: The long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is set to move a step closer, with the country’s largest stock exchange expected to file its preliminary papers with Sebi next week, people aware of the matter said.
This comes after NSE’s board approved the proposed IPO on February 6, following receipt of Sebi’s no-objection certificate (NOC).
The public issue will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS), with no fresh issue component.
According to people familiar with the development, the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) is likely to be filed on June 15 or June 16. The exchange has a broad-based shareholder base comprising domestic financial institutions, insurance companies, foreign investors and individual shareholders.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is the single largest shareholder in NSE, holding a 10.72 per cent stake. State Bank of India (SBI) and its subsidiary, SBI Capital Markets, together own around a 7.5 per cent stake in the exchange.
Among foreign investors with significant holdings are Aranda Investments, a subsidiary of Temasek, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The filing would mark a major milestone for NSE, whose listing plans had remained on hold for nearly a decade due to regulatory issues, including the co-location controversy.
In January, Sebi granted an NOC to NSE, paving the way for the exchange to revive its IPO plans. The proposed issue is expected to be among the largest in India’s capital markets. NSE, which has around 1.8 lakh shareholders, is valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore in the unlisted market, according to market participants.
NSE had first filed draft offer documents in 2016 to raise around Rs 10,000 crore through an offer for sale by existing shareholders. However, Sebi withheld approval amid concerns related to governance lapses and the co-location case.
Since then, the exchange has made multiple representations to the regulator seeking clearance and has undertaken various governance and compliance measures. As part of its IPO preparations, NSE appointed 20 merchant bankers, besides legal advisers and other intermediaries, to manage the proposed public issue.
In January, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the regulator had granted “in-principle” approval to NSE’s settlement application in the unfair market access case, a move widely seen as clearing a key hurdle for the IPO.