NSE Board approves IPO through OFS, forms committee to manage listing process

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Friday said its board of directors 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 listing of its shares on one or more recognized 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 go ahead with its IPO, ending a decade-long wait for approval for the public issue.

As part of the listing preparations, the Board of Directors also approved the re-establishment of the IPO Committee, which will carry out activities specifically delegated by the Board of Directors to facilitate the IPO process.

The reconstituted committee will be chaired by Tablesh Pandey and will comprise general 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 act as the central authority for the listing process, including defining listing procedures and establishing criteria for appointing investment bankers and legal advisors required to prepare the Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

The proposed IPO is expected to be one of the largest in Indian capital markets, given NSE’s size 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 gray market, according to several analysts. The listing is widely seen as a milestone for the Indian capital markets ecosystem, given NSE’s role as the country’s largest stock exchange by volume and its central position in the financial market infrastructure.