NSE IPO likely to be around Rs 20,000 Cr

In one of the most anticipated listings in recent years, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has taken a major step forward in its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) process, which could be could be sized in the range of Rs 20,000 crore, with management eyeing a valuation upwards of Rs 5 lakh crore or more. In a significant development, NSE officially appointed 20 investment bankers and eight law firms to manage the proposed share sale. This marks a record for the largest number of merchant bankers involved in any Indian IPO to date, surpassing previous benchmarks.

The selected bankers include prominent domestic names such as Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, and IIFL Capital Services, alongside international players like the Indian arms of Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and HSBC. Market sources indicate that the IPO is expected to be structured entirely as an Offer for Sale (OFS), with no fresh capital raised by the exchange itself.  Existing shareholders—including institutional and retail investors holding unlisted NSE shares—will be invited to tender their stakes, potentially diluting around 4–5% of the company's equity.

The appointments follow the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) no-objection certificate earlier this year and the NSE board's approval for the OFS route in February. With the banker syndicate now in place, the next milestones include preparing and filing the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), potentially within the coming months, setting the stage for a listing possibly in late 2026 or early 2027.