The National Stock Exchange of India's (NSE) initial public offering (IPO), valued at approximately $2.3 billion (₹22,562 crore), saw its portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) fully subscribed on the second day of bidding, Friday, September 18. This strong institutional demand brought the overall subscription for the IPO to 89% by 12:30 p.m. IST that day. The IPO, which opened on September 17, is India's second-largest public issue to date, following Hyundai Motor India's offering in 2024.
The IPO consists entirely of an offer for sale (OFS) of 12.64 crore shares, with a price band set between ₹1,700 and ₹1,785 per share. At the upper end of this price band, the IPO values NSE at around ₹4.42 lakh crore. Ahead of the public subscription, NSE successfully raised ₹6,746.18 crore from anchor investors, including prominent names like Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, GIC Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Norges Bank. Demand from anchor investors was exceptionally high, reaching nearly ₹1.2 lakh crore, which is approximately 20 times the size of the anchor book.
While QIBs fully subscribed to their portion, other investor categories also showed significant interest. The non-institutional investors (NIIs) portion was subscribed 90%, with bids for 1.70 crore shares against 1.89 crore shares on offer. Retail investors subscribed to 53% of their reserved portion, bidding for 2.35 crore shares out of 4.41 crore available. The employee reservation portion was also fully subscribed at 1.14 times. The grey market premium (GMP) for the NSE IPO stood at ₹142 on September 18, suggesting an estimated listing price of around ₹1,927 and a potential listing gain of about 8%. This GMP, however, is lower than its recent high of ₹310, indicating some moderation in grey market demand.
