NSE IPO issue to be resolved soon, confirms Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey

The highly anticipated IPO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) may soon get a green light from the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has indicated. “All the outstanding issues will be resolved, and we will move forward. Can't give you the timeline, but I think we should soon be doing it,” Pandey told reporters on the sidelines of the Assocham 16th Capital Market Conference.

The NSE IPO is long-awaited as its earlier attempt, back in 2016, was derailed after the bourse got embroiled in the co-location controversy. NSE had initially filed its IPO document with Sebi in December 2016, and was reportedly looking to raise around ₹10,000 crore. Existing shareholders of NSE, such as American investor Tiger Global Management, Aranda Investments, SAIF Partners (now known as Elevation Capital), Norwest Venture Partners, Citigroup Strategic Holdings, Goldman Sachs, State Bank of India, and others were expected to dilute a 23% stake in the exchange through an offer-for-sale.

Pandey also said that the regulator is working with NSE to resolve outstanding issues, including governance, technology, litigation, and the clearing corporation.

Last month, during an exclusive interaction with Fortune India, Pandey had said that the regulator is not opposed to NSE’s IPO. “I want to dispel that opinion [that Sebi has been reluctant to allow the IPO]. The BSE is already listed, so there’s no reason why the NSE cannot be listed as well,” he had said.

In March this year, NSE had reapplied for a fresh No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sebi, which would allow the exchange to take further steps towards listing of its shares.

Reports also suggest that NSE approached the finance ministry to intervene on its IPO application, which was later denied by the exchange, saying that "it hasn't had any correspondence with the government of India in the past 30 months relating to its IPO".

In July 2022, Sebi appointed Ashishkumar Chauhan as MD & CEO of the NSE for five years. This was his second stint at the NSE. He first joined NSE in 1993, when the bourse was being set up as a counterweight to BSE. Prior to the current stint, he was the BSE CEO between 2009 and 2022. A technocrat from IIT Bombay and an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, Chauhan, during his years with the BSE, successfully completed its IPO in 2017, which was oversubscribed 51 times with close to 1.2 million applications.

Last year, in a media interaction, Chauhan had said that NSE was ready to file a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), but awaited a signal from the market regulator. “The regulator (Sebi) has to give approval for the IPO. Once they give the approval, we’ll submit a revised DRHP,” Chauhan had said.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2025, NSE posted a consolidated net profit of ₹12,188 crore, up 47% year-on-year from the year-ago period. Consolidated total income for the year grew by 17% YoY to ₹19,177 crore, while consolidated operating Ebitda grew by 28% YoY to ₹12,647 crore in FY25.