NSE IPO Likely To Open On September 18, Priced At Rs 1,700-1,785 A Share: Report

NSE IPO Opening Date and Price Band: The initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is likely to open for public subscription on September 18, according to a PTI report citing sources. It added that the company might see its market debut on September 25.

The IPO’s price band is expected to be fixed in the range of Rs 1,700-1,785 per share, significantly lower than the Rs 2,000-2,100 range discussed earlier, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.

The exchange may also offer around 5.5% of its equity in the IPO, compared with the earlier plan to sell a 6% stake, the Bloomberg report said. Some shareholders are understood to have decided against selling their holdings at the lower valuation.

At the upper end of the proposed price band, NSE could be valued at around Rs 4.42 lakh crore ($46.6 billion). This would be considerably below the earlier targeted valuation of about Rs 5.26 lakh crore, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.

The exchange is expected to announce the IPO price band this week, with the issue likely to open for subscription in the week beginning September 14, Bloomberg reported. However, the pricing and timeline remain subject to change as discussions are still ongoing.

At Rs 1,785 a share, a 5.5% stake sale could help NSE raise around Rs 24,300 crore. If completed at that size, the issue would still fall short of the Rs 27,900 crore raised by Hyundai Motor India in 2024, which remains India’s largest IPO.

NSE IPO GMP

The grey market premium (GMP) for the NSE IPO currently stands at Rs 250, according to investorgain.com.

GMP refers to the premium at which IPO shares are informally traded in the grey market before their official stock-market listing. It is not an official NSE or Sebi indicator and can change rapidly depending on market sentiment and expectations.

If the IPO’s eventual issue price is around Rs 1,785 and the reported GMP of Rs 250 holds, the implied grey-market price would be around Rs 2,035 per share, which is a 14 per cent potential gain.

However, investors should not treat the GMP as a guaranteed listing gain. Grey-market transactions are unofficial, and the actual NSE listing price can differ significantly from the implied price.

The NSE had filed its draft prospectus in June for an offer-for-sale (OFS), meaning the IPO will consist entirely of shares sold by existing shareholders rather than any fresh issue of equity. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved the IPO prospectus on September 4.

Among the shareholders looking to sell shares are Morgan Stanley, Temasek Holdings, State Bank of India, Stock Holding Corporation of India, General Insurance Corporation of India, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance, according to the NSE’s filing.

The NSE operates one of India’s largest stock exchanges and is the world’s biggest derivatives exchange by trading volume. Its proposed listing is among the most closely watched IPOs in India’s capital markets, given the exchange’s dominant position in equity and derivatives trading.