India’s largest stock exchange reportedly doubles in value on IPO hopes
The National Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India. Photograph: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
The private market valuation of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. has doubled in the past four months to $36 billion, amid investor expectations that an initial public offering could take place as early as the first quarter of next year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Unlisted shares on the world’s largest contract derivatives exchange are in high demand among asset managers whose wealthy clients want a stake, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity and cited private information. While demand far exceeds supply, the shares have recently sold for between 5,700 rupees and 6,500 rupees ($68 to $78), the people said.
The company’s valuation could rise further in the coming months as its IPO plans progress, the sources said. Shares in private companies can change hands on the secondary market, either on specialized private trading platforms or in individually negotiated transactions. Due to the nature of the secondary market, it is unclear how many shares have changed hands.
According to one of the people, NSE is working on finalizing the documentation for an IPO early next year, but the potential IPO could take longer.
An NSE spokesperson did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Earlier this month, the markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, cleared NSE, as the bourse is known, of any wrongdoing in an unfair market access case dating back almost a decade that had been a major hurdle for the company to go public.
The exchange, backed by big investors including Life Insurance Corporation of India and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, first filed papers for an IPO in 2016. Its plans to list suffered a setback when the regulator barred it from the securities market for six months and slapped it with a fine after it found that brokerage OPG Securities Pvt. was profiting from unfair market access.
The privately held NSE was valued at $17 billion to $18 billion when private equity firm ChrysCapital Management Co., which holds a 4 percent stake in the company, set up a $700 million continuation fund in May this year to hold the company for longer.
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First publication: Sep 25, 2024 | 11:40 PM IST