NSE Board approves IPO via OFS, forms a committee to drive listing process

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Friday said its governing board has approved plans to undertake an initial public offering (IPO) through an offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders.

NSE said the IPO will involve the listing of its equity shares on one or more recognised Indian stock exchanges, subject to applicable regulatory approvals, prevailing market conditions and other relevant factors.

The development comes soon after NSE recently received a no-objection from market regulator Sebi to proceed with its IPO, ending a decade-long wait for approval for its public issue.

As part of the listing preparations, the board also approved the reconstitution of its IPO Committee, which will carry out activities specifically delegated by the governing board for facilitating the IPO process.

The reconstituted committee will be chaired by Tablesh Pandey and will include public interest directors Srinivas Injeti, Prof Mamata Biswal, Abhilasha Kumari, and Prof Sivakumar, along with NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Chauhan.

The committee is expected to serve as the central authority for the listing process, including defining listing procedures and establishing criteria for appointing merchant bankers and legal advisors required to draft the Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).The proposed IPO is expected to be among the largest in India’s capital markets, given NSE’s scale and dominance in the domestic equity derivatives market. NSE has around 1.77 lakh shareholders and is valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore in the grey market, according to various analysts.The listing is widely being watched as a landmark event for India’s capital markets ecosystem, given NSE’s role as the country’s largest stock exchange by volumes and its central position in the financial market infrastructure.