NSE's $2.3 Billion IPO Draws Over $10 Billion In Bids

Synopsis

The initial public offering of the National Stock Exchange of India, worth $2,3 billion, ended with an over-subscription ratio of 5.7, with over $10 billion worth of bids from the final day. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) led demand, bidding 12.68 times their quota. The exchange operator began work to go public 10 years ago and NSE shares will start trading on Thursday.

Subscription Numbers

After three days of bidding, the exchange data showed that bids for 505.81 million shares valued at $2.3 billion have been received for the IPO, India's largest after $3.3 billion worth of bids were received for Hyundai Motor India's IPO.

The amount of the issue was Rs 22,569 crore or about $2.3 billion, all of which was made up of offer for sale with qualified institutional buyers subscribing at 12.68 times, non-institutional investors at 6.55 times and retail investors at 1.39 times.

The appetite of investors and their valuation

QIBs, essentially, drove demand as they picked up 12.68 times the allocation of shares, and high-net-worth (HNW) buyers followed suit, even though the issue was priced exorbitantly.

NSE trades at P/E ratio of 42.9 times, based on the top end of IPO price band and earnings for FY ended March 2026, as per a report by a brokerage firm, Yes Securities — which is higher than the P/E ratios of other exchange operators in the United States, such as the Nasdaq, which trades at 23.6 times, and the Intercontinental Exchange at 21.9 times.

Market Position And Headwinds

India's biggest bourse dominates 93% of the cash market and almost 75% of options trading, while the number of investors on the exchange has increased by 40% in two years to 129.09 million by March-end.

But regulatory tightening, taxation adjustments and a new closing auction system have been negatively affecting derivatives trading volumes. On its own, Sundararaman Ramamurthy, managing director of competing exchange BSE, said that 35 million Indian investors had registered on his platform in 2025 alone, meaning Indian markets have not suffered as much as they would have in a sharper sell-off by foreign investors.

It's a long road to listing

India's largest stock exchange operator has been working towards going public for ten years and shares will begin trading on Thursday on the NSE.

NSE has been in the process of listing since 2016, but the process has been repeatedly blocked due to regulatory issues, such as the aftermath of a dispute regarding the unfair availability of trading at the same location. The offering is the second biggest IPO in India after that of Hyundai Motor India, which sold Rs 27,870 crore, in 2024, and also exceeds the offering size of LIC's Rs 21,000 crore in 2022.

Why It Matters

The listing comes in the midst of a global surge in primary markets across India. As billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms is poised to go public later this year in India's largest ever stock sale, it certainly gives investors a reason to feel confident about India's capital markets even as global markets are roller-coasting.

Outlook

Market participants will be keen to see how NSE's premium valuation – where it is priced higher than its global peers – fares when shares start free trading Thursday, and if the “buy it now or re-rate it later” stance prevails on the exchange.