NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO: Company Review, Subscription and Allotment Updates

2026-06-20 — IPO context and investor considerations

The NSE filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for its long-pending IPO last week. The IPO size at ₹30,000 crore will be among the biggest ever IPOs in India. However, there are some key facets to know beyond what is said in the prospectus.

How NSE compares with other stock exchanges?

Since NSE is the leader in capital market activity in India by a margin, let us compare with other global listed exchanges like NASDAQ and Euronext. NASDAQ has a market cap of $47 billion and it lists technology stocks with a combined market cap of $43 trillion. Let us turn to Euronext. It has listed stocks with a market cap of $9 trillion and the exchange itself trades at a market cap of $18 billion. In comparison, assuming the current informal price of NSE, we are looking at a starting valuation of around $65 billion for total listed stocks with market cap of under $5 trillion. Clearly, valuations look like a disconnect.

How NSE profits rank vis-à-vis listed Indian giants?

At an indicative market cap of around ₹6.0 trillion, the NSE will easily be among the 10-15 most valuable companies in India. The question is how does the NSE market cap look vis-à-vis other listed value peers. If you take TCS; it has a market cap of ₹7.7 trillion on FY26 net profits of ₹49,200 crore. Larsen & Toubro has a market cap of ₹5.9 trillion on FY26 net profits of ₹16,084 crore. LIC has a market cap of ₹5.6 trillion on net profits of ₹57,419 crore. ICICI Bank has a market cap of ₹9.7 trillion on net profits of ₹50,147 crore. In comparison, NSE is targeting market value of ₹6.0 trillion to ₹7.0 trillion on net profits of ₹10,302 crore. That is a huge disconnect in P/E ratio compared to Nifty average of 20.2X.

Two things most investors are likely to miss out

The first is the colocation issue, which has plagued the NSE for almost 10 years now, even leading to the premature exit of its previous two CEOs. The allegations are very serious; in that it involved a handful of brokers gaming the entire system to get an advantage over other brokers in execution. In reality it is a major integrity issue, but it has been dealt with just a rap on the knuckles, considering the TBTF features of NSE. The second issue is what is left on the table. Big early investors like SBI, Bank of Baroda, and SHCIL are making anywhere between 2,000X and 2,500X returns on their investment. Clearly, most of the easy money is off the table. Only the very tough profits are still left on the table.

The real question; what is the next big trigger for NSE?

Every company has a grand plan when it comes to their next 5 years. For Reliance it is green energy, data, and AI. For the IT companies it is AI, ML and creating their own IP. For LIC, the big story is deepening life insurance penetration and leveraging its distribution. For SBI, ICICI and HDFC Bank; it is more about becoming global full-service banks. For a company to be valued at around $65 billion, there may not be much left on the table, unless there is a much story on the road ahead. If one reads through the DRHP of NSE, there is no such big idea for the future that is visible. Probably, we will hear about that in the roadshows, but without that big idea, investors will be taking a big valuation risk!

2026-08-29 — IPO context and investor considerations

With the NSE IPO expected soon, the big question is whether retail investors should invest in the IPO? That would depend on the risk appetite of the investors; but here are four questions that investors must ask before investing.

How does it compare with other exchanges?

Let us take a global comparison. For FY26, NSE reported net profits of around $1 billion, while NASDAQ had profits of $2 billion. However, the market cap of NASDAQ is around $55 billion, which is what the NSE IPO is also targeting. You end up paying the same price for half the earnings. Also, look at the quality of companies listed on both the exchanges. The NSE listed stocks as a whole have a market cap of $4 trillion, while on the NASDAQ, NVIDIA alone has a market cap of $5 trillion. That shows the comparison. It really raises one question; are investors paying too much for NSE IPO?

Investors lose money in NSE’s biggest business

A report by SEBI has clearly stated that Indian retail investors lost close to ₹1.85 trillion trading on F&O in last 2 years. Incidentally, trading in futures and options accounts for nearly 60-65% of the total revenues and profits of NSE. The dependence of NSE on F&O volumes is so high that in FY26, their profits fell by -16% yoy due to stiff restrictions that SEBI had imposed on F&O trading by retail investors. Ironically, F&O in India has been a business where the exchanges and the government make a lot of money, but the retail investors actually make losses. Obviously, once NSE is listed, there are going to be a lot of uncomfortable questions raised by analysts and the media alike.

Where will the shares of NSE list?

Unfortunately, NSE cannot list its shares on the NSE, despite dominating 90% of the cash market turnover. That is because SEBI regulations do not permit an exchange to list on itself. NSE has the option of subsequently listing its shares on an international exchange, but that is going to raise a lot of uncomfortable questions about the Colocation issue, wherein preferential access to servers was given to select clients. The other option is to list on the BSE and allow the stock to trade in the Permitted To Trade (PTT) category on the NSE. That needs SEBI approval. SEBI will not want a situation where the PTT leads to more vibrant price discovery than the exchange of listing. That is a major dilemma!

How much is left on the table for investors?

That is the million-dollar question. Look at some of the institutional investors who will be exiting their shares in NSE in the IPO. Early investors like SBI, LIC, Bank of Baroda, and other general insurance companies will make anywhere between 2,500X and 3,000X returns on their investment. That means; an investment of ₹1 crore will be worth ₹3,000 crore on exit. Even considering the long holding period, that is phenomenal CAGR returns of 28-30% annualized. That is more than twice what the NSE-50 has given since inception. NSE does not need funds, and this is entirely an OFS. If your IPO investment pays twice the Nifty returns to early investors; how much can you make?

2026-09-16 — Company overview and issue details

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO (ABOUT THE COMPANY)

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) – COMPANY BACKGROUND

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) is India’s largest stock exchange in cash equities, futures, and in options volumes. NSE has a market share of 11.38% of the trades in the world in cash market and a share of 51.18% in contracts traded in derivatives. As of the June 2026 quarter, NSE had a market share of 93.05% in cash equities, 99.72% in equity futures, and 68.48% in equity options. With a massive customer base of 13.24 crore unique registered investors as of June 2026, NSE lists over 3,005 entities, reaches 1,400 cities and covers nearly 99% of the pin codes. It is also the No.1 in clearing and has a “AAA” rating by CRISIL. The core Settlement Guarantee Fund (SGF) has a corpus of ₹13,392 crore. Bulk of its revenues come from transaction charges on equity and derivative transactions.

The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) is professionally owned and managed and does not have any identified promoter group. The IPO will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS) with no fresh issue component. Some of the key participants in the OFS include SBI, CPPIB, Aranda, MS Strategic Mauritius, New India Assurance, SBI Caps, BOB, SHCIL, GIC, United India Assurance; among others. The issue is being lead-managed by a total of 19 book running lead managers (BRLMs). The major BRLMs are Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Morgan Stanley India, Citigroup Global, HSBC, JP Morgan etc. MUFG Intime India Private Ltd is the IPO registrar. The full list of 19 book running lead managers (BRLMs), is available in the RHP, which can be downloaded at the link below…

https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/content/ipo/RHP_NSE.zip

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE IPO ISSUE OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE)

Here are the key highlights of the public issue of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE).

The IPO is open from September 17th, 2026 to September 21st, 2026. It has a face value of ₹1 per share and the IPO price band has been fixed in the range of ₹1,700 to ₹1,785 per share.

The IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) will be entirely an offer for sale by investor shareholders, as it does not have a identified promoter group. There is no fresh issue component in the IPO.

The offer for sale (OFS) portion of the IPO comprises the sale of 12,64,36,650 shares (1,264.37 lakh shares), which at the upper price band of ₹1,785 per share, translates into an overall OFS size of ₹22,568.94 crore. Being an OFS, there is no dilution of equity, and the total outstanding shares remain the same post the IPO also.

Since there is no fresh issue component to the IPO, the overall IPO size will also comprise only of the offer for sale of 12,64,36,650 shares (1,264.37 lakh shares), which at the upper price band of ₹1,785 per share translates into an overall issue size of ₹22,568.94 crore.

Being a professionally owned and managed organization, it does not have any identified promoter group. Hence, the issue of dilution of promoter stake due to the IPO is not applicable in this case.

The IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) will be listed only on the BSE on the IPO mainboard. Being a stock exchange, SEBI rules do not allow the exchange to list on itself. The anchor allocation happened on September 16, 2026.

KEY DATES, INVESTOR ALLOCATION, AND LOT SIZES

Here are the key dates pertaining to the IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)

Data Source: Company RHP

Investors can apply either through their existing trading account or the ASBA application can be directly logged through the internet banking account. This can only be done through the authorized list of self-certified syndicate banks (SCSB).

The table below captures the gist of the allocation to various categories.

Data Source: Security Parameters Filing (NSE)

The anchor portion, is carved out of the QIB portion and the QIB portion available in the IPO offer has been reduced proportionately. Please note that the above shares are final and may differ marginally from the original announcement.

Here is a quick look at the lot sizes applicable for the IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) for various categories of investors.

It may be noted here that for the B-HNI category and for the QIB (qualified institutional buyer) category, there are no upper limits applicable. (1 Lot = 8 shares)

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE)

The table captures the key financials of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) for last 3 financial years. Total revenues has been used as the top line for a clearer picture.

Data Source: Company RHP filed with SEBI (FY refers to Apr-Mar period)

Between FY24 and FY26, the net margins have consistently stayed above 50%, while the EBITDA margins have also hovered around the 60% mark in the last 3 years. NSE had seen a sharp fall in the net profits in FY26 compared to FY25 due to the fall in futures and options volumes, after the government had imposed higher rates of STT on futures and options transactions. Also, the exchange has paid a heavy penalty for the 10-year-old colocation case, to be able to go ahead with the IPO.

VALUATION METRICS OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO

At the IPO price of ₹1,785 (upper band), the stock gets discounted at a P/E ratio of 42.9X, based on the latest FY26 EPS of ₹41.62, on a pre-IPO basis. If one were to compare with the only available company in the peer group (BSE), the P/E ratio of NSE is more reasonable compared to 54.3X for BSE Ltd. However, BSE has a much higher RONW at 45.0%, compared to 33.2% for NSE. However, the valuation should look more reasonable if one considers a more normalized earnings instead of just the latest financial year.

NSE does bring a major advantage to the table in that it is the undisputed market leader in equity and derivatives. The colocation case had been an overhang on the exchange for a long time, but that should now be a thing of the past. The IPO permission will allow NSE to go ahead with its growth and expansion plans. For the IPO investor, this is an opportunity for those investors who missed the BSE story to catch up. However, considering that early investors are making steep returns, any IPO investor will have to take a sufficiently long-term view to be profitable in the IPO investment.

2026-09-16 — Anchor allocation

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO (ANCHOR ALLOCATION 29.89%)

BRIEF ON ANCHOR ALLOCATION OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE)

The anchor issue of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) saw a strong response on 16th September 2026 with 29.89% of the IPO size absorbed by anchors. Out of 12,64,36,650 shares (1,264.37 lakh shares) on offer in the IPO; anchors picked up 3,77,93,739 shares (377.94 lakh shares) accounting for 29.89% of the total IPO size. The entire anchor allocation was made at the upper end of the price band of ₹1,785 per share. This includes the face value of ₹1 per share plus a share premium of ₹1,784 per share. The anchor bidding opened and closed on 16th September 2026.

KEY POINTS TO NOTE IN THE ANCHOR ALLOCATION PROCESS

Here are the key details pertaining to the anchor bidding of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)

An anchor investor in an IPO is a qualified institutional buyer (QIB) like a foreign portfolio investor or mutual fund or insurance company or a sovereign fund which invests before the IPO is made available to the public as per SEBI regulations. It helps in price discovery.

MAJOR ANCHOR ALLOCATION INVESTORS IN NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE)

On 16th September 2026, National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) allotted 3,77,93,739 shares to a total of 189 anchor investors. The allocation was done at the upper IPO price band of ₹1,785 per share which resulted in overall anchor allocation of ₹6,746.18 crore. The anchors have already absorbed 29.89% of the total issue size of ₹22,568.94 crore, after factoring in the employee discount offered in the IPO, at ₹170 per share.

Listed below are the Top 10 IPO anchor investors who accounted for anchor collection of ₹2,194.54 crores, or, 32.53% of the overall anchor allocation of shares, one trading day ahead of the IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE). The individual anchor allocation of top-10 investors is indexed descending on the number of shares allotted.

Data Source: BSE Filings (Value Allocated is ₹ in Crore)

The detailed and comprehensive report on the anchor allocation, with the mutual fund portion segregated, can be accessed on BSE by clicking on the link below.

https://www.bseindia.com/downloads/UploadDocs/Notices/Attach/Anchor_Intimation_Letter$812a2503-49a0-46c8-a3c0-17e605684592.pdf

Out of the 3,77,93,739 shares allocated to the anchors in the IPO, there was an allocation of 1,39,77,524 shares made to mutual funds regulated by SEBI. This anchor allocation to mutual funds was spread across 98 MF schemes of 29 asset management company (AMC). Mutual funds accounted for 36.98% of the overall anchor allocation.

Out of the 3,77,93,739 shares allocated to the anchors in the IPO, there was an allocation of 60,60,744 shares made to 27 life insurance companies and pension funds regulated by IRDAI and PFRDA respectively. Life insurance companies and pension funds accounted for 16.04% of the anchor allocation.

The remaining anchor allocation was spread across FPIs, ODIs, SIFs, and alternate investment funds (AIFs).

NEXT STEPS IN NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO

Post the closure of the IPO subscription on 21st September 2026, the basis of allotment will be finalized on 22nd September 2026 and the refunds will be initiated on 23rd September 2026. In addition, the demat credits are expected to also happen on 23rd September 2026 and the stock will list on 24th September 2026 on the NSE and the BSE. The credits to the demat account to the extent of shares allotted will happen by the close of 23rd September 2026 under ISIN (INE721I01024).

2026-09-21 — Day-3 subscription update

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) (Day-3 Final Subscription at 5.71 times)

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) - IPO SUBSCRIPTION STATUS ON DAY-3

As of 7.15 pm on 21st September 2026, out of the 886.43 lakh shares on offer in the IPO (excluding anchor portion), National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) saw bids for 5,058.11 lakh shares. This implies an overall subscription of 5.71X at a macro level. The granular break-up of subscriptions at close of Day-3 of the IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) was as under:

The subscriptions were led by the QIB Investors followed by the HNI / NII investors and the Retail investors in that order. QIB bids and NII bids typically gather most of the momentum only on the last day. That was the case in this IPO too. Both, the QIB portion and the HNI / NII portion saw bulk of the institutional, corporate and funded subscriptions come in on the last day of the IPO. The company saw steady anchor participation a day ahead of the IPO opening with 29.89% of the IPO size absorbed by anchor investors. Here is the category-wise subscription. The overall subscription ratio excludes anchor portion.

Data Source: NSE / BSE (as of close of Day-3 of the IPO)

The IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) was open up to September 21, 2026, and has closed for subscription as of the close of trading hours on September 21, 2026. The subscription ratios presented in the table above represent the final subscription numbers for each category and also for the IPO overall. Generally, the listing price of the IPO and the post-listing performance tend to get influenced by the extent of oversubscription of the IPO. However, it must also be noted that a higher subscription is not an automatic guarantee of a strong listing performance for the IPO stock. The final subscription ratio excludes anchor portion. Total bids as of the close (including anchor allocation) stood at ₹97,033.51 crore.

NEXT STEPS IN THE NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO

Post the closure of the IPO subscription on 21st September 2026, the basis of allotment will be finalized on 22nd September 2026 and the refunds will be initiated on 23rd September 2026. In addition, the demat credits are expected to also happen on 23rd September 2026 and the stock will list on 24th September 2026 on the NSE and the BSE. The credits to the demat account to the extent of shares allotted will happen by the close of 23rd September 2026 under ISIN (INE721I01024).

2026-09-21 — Allotment guidance and next steps

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) IPO (How to check allotment status)

ABOUT THE NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO

The IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) opened on September 17th, 2026 and closed on September 21st, 2026. The overall IPO comprised entirely of an offer for sale (OFS) of 12,64,36,650 shares (1,264.37 lakh shares) worth ₹22,568.94 crore at the upper price band of ₹1,785 per share. There was no fresh issue component in the IPO. The allotment status will be finalized by end of day (EOD) of September 22, 2026. Here is how to check your allotment status for the IPO of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE). You can check IPO status on the BSE website or on the NSE website or on the IPO Registrar website (MUFG Intime India Private Ltd).

CHECKING THE ALLOTMENT STATUS OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO ON BSE WEBSITE

This is a facility available to all mainboard IPOs, irrespective of who the registrar to the issue is. Visit the BSE link for the IPO allotment by clicking on the link below.

https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx

Once you reach the page, here are the steps to follow.

Under Issue Type – Select Equity Option

Under Issue Name – Select National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) from the drop-down box

Enter the Application Number / CAF exactly as in the acknowledgement slip OR

Enter your PAN (10-digit alphanumeric) number

Once this is done, you need to click on the Captcha to verify you are not a robot

Finally click on the Search Button

You can use either of the parameters to query; Application / CAF number or Investor PAN.

The allotment status will be displayed on the screen in front of you informing about the number of shares of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) allotted into your demat account. You can save a screenshot of the allotment status output for subsequently verifying with the demat account credits.

CHECKING ALLOTMENT STATUS OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO ON NSE WEBSITE

This is a common link for all IPOs. Click on NSE link for IPO allotment as below.

https://www.nseindia.com/invest/check-trades-bids-verify-ipo-bids

Once you reach the page, here are the steps to follow.

Under Issue Type – Select Equity & SME IPO Details Option

Under SELECT SYMBOL – Select NSE from the dropdown box

Enter the Application Number / CAF exactly as in the acknowledgement slip AND

Enter your PAN (10-digit alphanumeric) number

Once both are entered, click on the Submit Button

You must input the Application / CAF number and the Investor PAN.

The allotment status will be displayed on the screen in front of you informing about the number of shares of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) allotted into your demat account. You can save a screenshot of the allotment status output for tallying with the demat account credits.

CHECKING ALLOTMENT STATUS OF NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) ON MUFG INTIME INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED (REGISTRAR TO THE IPO)

Here are the steps to follow. Visit the Link Intime registrar website for IPO status by clicking on the link below:

https://in.mpms.mufg.com/Initial_Offer/public-issues.html

There are 4 options available to you to access the allotment status, and you can use any of these options to query.

You can use PAN access. Enter the 10-character alphanumeric income tax permanent account number (PAN). Make it a point to verify your PAN before entering.

The second option is to use Application Number / CAF to query the allotment status in the IPO. The application / CAF number is available on the acknowledgement slip.

You can use DPID-Client ID combination. For NSDL combination is alphanumeric, while for CDSL, combination is numeric. This is available in your demat statement.

You can also query by the combination of your bank account number and IFSC number provided as the IPO mandate bank. It is available on your cheque book.

Finally, click on the SUBMIT button.

In case, you have any issues with the output, register an investor query with Link Intime India Private Ltd. You can either send an email with all requisite details and problem to ipo.helpdesk@in.mpms.mufg.com or you can call on (0)-81081-14949 for voice call.

NEXT STEPS IN THE NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LTD (NSE) IPO

Post the closure of the IPO subscription on 21st September 2026, the basis of allotment will be finalized on 22nd September 2026 and the refunds will be initiated on 23rd September 2026. In addition, the demat credits are expected to also happen on 23rd September 2026 and the stock will list on 24th September 2026 on the NSE and the BSE. The credits to the demat account to the extent of shares allotted will happen by the close of 23rd September 2026 under ISIN (INE721I01024).

Interested in applying for this IPO?

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