NSDL, Sri Lotus Developers listing day preview: GMP hints at premium debut

Shares of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), India’s oldest and largest depository, and real estate developer Sri Lotus Developers are set to make their public debut on the bourses tomorrow. Ahead of the listing, both companies were trading at a premium in the unlisted market, indicating a strong debut on the domestic bourses.

NSDL shares were commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of ₹132, indicating a listing price of around ₹932, up 16.50% over the issue price of ₹800 apiece. In a similar trend, Sri Lotus Developers’ last GMP was ₹38, estimating a listing price of around ₹188, a premium of 25.3% over the IPO price of ₹150 per share.

“Given the strong subscription levels and current market sentiment, we expect a decent listing gain in the range of 12–15% or higher for NSDL, depending on listing day mood,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Tapse said that beyond the short-term listing pop, NSDL represents a compelling long-term proxy play on the growth of institutional participation in the Indian capital markets. “Therefore, we recommend allotted investors to hold it for long-term perspective while non-allotted investors can wait and watch for potential post-listing dip opportunity to enter,” he added.

According to him, NSDL continues to lead in value-based transactions and institutional account holdings, underpinned by deep-rooted industry trust and robust technological infrastructure, making it a key pillar of India’s capital markets framework. Alongside listed peer CDSL, it forms a near-duopoly, with high entry barriers for new competitors in the segment.

Currently, CDSL shares were trading at around ₹1,562, with a market capitalisation of ₹32,652 crore.

On the listing of Sri Lotus Developers, Tapse said the real estate developer may see a healthy listing gain in the range of 20–25% or more, contingent on overall market sentiment on the listing day.

“From a long-term investment standpoint, we believe Sri Lotus offers a compelling opportunity to participate in Mumbai’s premium residential growth story. Hence, we recommend allotted investors to hold for the long term, while non-allotted investors may adopt a wait and watch approach for any potential entry opportunity in case of a post-listing dip,” he said.

As a Mumbai-based real estate developer operating in the ultra-luxury and luxury housing segment, with a solid pipeline of redevelopment projects, Sri Lotus is well-placed to benefit from the structural growth drivers within Mumbai’s premium real estate market, he added.

The ₹4,011.60-crore IPO of NSDL was subscribed 41 times, while Sri Lotus Developers' ₹792-crore issue saw even greater traction, getting subscribed 69 times.

Exchange data showed the NSDL IPO was subscribed 41.02 times, receiving bids for over 144 crore shares worth ₹1.15 lakh crore against 3.51 crore shares on offer. The public issue was subscribed 103.97 times in the qualified institutional buyer (QIB) segment, followed by 34.98 times in the non-institutional investor (NII) segment. The quota reserved for retail investors was booked 7.76 times, while the employee portion was subscribed 15.42 times.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lotus IPO was subscribed 69.13 times on the final day of bidding, generating demand close to ₹55,000 crore with more than 34 lakh applications. The issue received bids for 2,74,16,88,500 shares against the 3,96,58,730 equity shares on offer, according to exchange data. The QIB and NII portions were subscribed 163.90 times and 57.71 times, respectively, whereas the retail portion was booked 20.27 times. The employee portion received 19.83 times subscription.

The price band for the Sri Lotus IPO was ₹140-150 a share, while that of NSDL was ₹760-800 per share.

The NSDL IPO was entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of 5.01 crore equity shares by existing shareholders, including IDBI Bank, NSE, SBI, HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India, and others.

On the other hand, the IPO of Sri Lotus Developers was a completely fresh issue of equity shares with no OFS component. The real estate developer, engaged in the construction of residential and commercial premises in Mumbai, intends to use the IPO proceeds to invest in its subsidiaries for funding the development and construction cost of its ongoing projects.

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