Shares of several listed companies holding stakes in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rallied on Thursday after the exchange filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for its initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) late on Wednesday. The development revived market interest in NSE-linked entities.
Following the filing, shares of key NSE stakeholders surged during intraday trade. Companies such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), and The New India Assurance Company saw their stock prices rise between 2 percent and 14 percent.
The rally reflected investor optimism over the valuation and liquidity potential of NSE’s long-awaited listing.
Other NSE-linked stocks, including GeeCee Ventures and Maithan Alloys, surged with gains reaching as high as 7 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
Broader participation was seen across other institutional shareholders such as LIC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Lombard, HDFC Life, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, and SBI Life Insurance, with most of them trading higher in the range of 0.2 percent to 3.4 percent.
The overall market reaction highlights strong investor sentiment around the NSE IPO, which is expected to be one of the largest listings in India’s capital markets.
The proposed IPO is structured entirely as an offer for sale (OFS), involving 14.89 crore shares. Under this structure, existing shareholders will collectively divest around 6 percent of their holdings in the exchange.
Since no fresh shares are being issued, the proceeds will go entirely to selling shareholders.
Several institutional shareholders are participating in the OFS, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Aranda Investments (Mauritius), Stock Holding Corporation of India, GIC Re, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company, and United India Assurance Company. PSU banks and financial institutions also form a significant part of the selling group.
State Bank of India holds a 3.23 percent stake in NSE, while SBI Capital Markets owns 4.33 percent. Stock Holding Corporation of India holds a 4.44 percent stake. These holdings have now come into focus as the IPO process moves forward.
