NSE formally approves IPO in first step towards its long-delayed public markets debut

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has formally approved its initial public offering (IPO), paving the way for the country’s largest stock exchange to list on the bourses after a prolonged delay.

The offer will see stake sale by existing shareholders, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. NSE's proposed IPO will see shares carry a face value of ₹1 each, the exchange notified.

The company might see a 4-4.5% stake sale, which might take up to eight months, chief executive officer Ashishkumar Chauhan had told reporters earlier this month.

The exchange also approved the formation of an IPO committee to oversee and execute the listing process. Such a panel is mandatory for companies without promoters looking to go public.

The committee will be chaired by Life Insurance Corp’s former managing director Tablesh Pandey, who currently serves as a non-independent director on the exchange's board. Pandey, who retired as LIC’s managing director effective 31 May 2025, is also a director of ITC Hotels Ltd.

India’s largest life insurer is the single-largest shareholder with a 10.7% stake as of December-end.

Other members of the committee include NSE's newly appointed chairperson Srinivas Injeti, public interest directors Mamata Biswal, Abhilasha Kumari and G Sivakumar, and CEO Chauhan.

NSE recently received a no-objection certificate from the market regulator to proceed with its IPO. The IPO ran into hurdles following the dark fibre case, which centred on allegations that some high-frequency traders were given preferential access to the exchange’s co-location servers between 2010 and 2014, Mint reported earlier. The use of faster private communication lines allegedly enabled these traders to execute orders before others. In April 2019, Sebi ordered the exchange to disgorge ₹62.58 crore in purported unlawful gains and prohibited certain senior officials from holding market-related positions.

In 2022, Sebi also levied a ₹7 crore penalty on the exchange, but this was later overturned by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). The regulator appealed against the tribunal ruling before the Supreme Court in September 2023 and again in February 2024.

Last month, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said at an event that Sebi had granted “in-principle” approval to NSE’s settlement application in the unfair market access case, PTI reported.

On Friday, the exchange also approved the incorporation of a new coal exchange subsidiary. It will hold 60%, and the remaining 40% may be distributed among other shareholders.

The subsidiary is being set up with the objective of bringing "transparency, efficiency and standardised price discovery to India’s coal market, which currently operates through fragmented and largely opaque channels", NSE said.

NSE will invest ₹100 crore in the coal exchange as minimum capital to maintain regulatory compliance.

The exchange’s profit rose 15% sequentially to ₹2,409 crore in the December quarter, while its revenue from operations increased 7% to ₹3,925 crore.

NSE's operating income, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), almost doubled to ₹2,851 crore, while its margin widened to 73% from the September quarter's 40%.

The margin improved as other expenses fell to ₹542 crore from ₹1,811 crore due to one-time provisioning in the prior quarter.