NSE IPO subscribed 5.67 times on final day, QIBs lead demand; GMP falls to 1.7%

The much-awaited ₹22,562 crore initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) closed today with the issue subscribed 5.67 times. Investors placed bids for 50.25 crore shares against 8.86 crore shares on offer, according to BSE data.

Institutional investors were at the forefront of demand. The qualified institutional buyers (QIB) portion was subscribed 12.68 times, with bids for 31.97 crore shares against 2.52 crore shares reserved for the category.

Non-institutional investors (NIIs) subscribed 6.54 times, receiving bids for 12.35 crore shares against 1.89 crore shares on offer. Within the segment, investors bidding more than ₹10 lakh subscribed 7.78 times, while the ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh category was subscribed 4.06 times.

Retail participation was relatively subdued but still took the issue past full subscription, with the portion set aside for them subscribing 1.31 times. Retail investors bid for 5.77 crore shares against 4.41 crore shares reserved for them. The employee quota was subscribed 2.33 times.

NSE had reserved 50% of the issue for QIBs, 15% for NIIs and the remaining 35% for retail investors.

The composition of institutional demand also highlighted broad interest in the exchange operator. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) placed bids for 14.03 crore shares, while domestic financial institutions—including banks, financial institutions and insurance companies—bid for 6.80 crore shares. Mutual funds submitted bids for another 5.41 crore shares.

The NSE IPO is entirely an offer for sale (OFS), comprising 12.64 crore shares, with no fresh issue of equity. The price band was fixed at ₹1,700-1,785 per share, valuing the exchange at around ₹4.45 lakh crore at the upper end of the band. The shares are expected to list on September 24.

NSE IPO GMP cools ahead of listing

The mood in the unofficial grey market has cooled considerably ahead of the listing. The grey market premium (GMP) for the NSE IPO stood at ₹30 as of September 21, according to grey market tracking data. At the upper end of the price band, this points to an indicative listing price of around ₹1,815, translating into a potential premium of about 1.68%.

The latest GMP is sharply lower than the recent high of ₹310. Over the past 15 sessions, the premium has ranged between ₹142 and ₹310, indicating a significant moderation in grey-market expectations as the listing approaches.

GMPs are unofficial market indicators and can fluctuate before listing. They do not guarantee the actual listing price or any gains for investors.

Ahead of the IPO, NSE raised ₹6,746.18 crore from anchor investors, with demand touching nearly ₹1.2 lakh crore, or around 20 times the anchor book size.

The exchange allotted 3.78 crore shares to anchor investors at ₹1,785 apiece, the upper end of the price band. More than 150 investors participated in the anchor book, with foreign and domestic institutional investors accounting for a significant portion of the demand.

With the IPO now closed, market attention will shift to NSE’s debut on September 24, when the exchange’s long-awaited transition to the listed market will come under the spotlight.