The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has concluded the selection of merchant bankers, law firms, and other intermediaries for its proposed initial public offering (IPO).
India’s largest exchange appointed 20 merchant bankers to manage the mega share sale, including the Indian units of Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan and HSBC Securities. Domestic firms selected include Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., JM Financial Ltd, Axis Capital Ltd, IIFL Capital Services Ltd, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd, ICICI Securities Ltd, SBI Capital Markets Ltd, Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd, HDFC Bank, Avendus Capital Pvt. Ltd, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd, 360 ONE WAM Ltd, Anand Rathi Advisors Ltd, DAM Capital Advisors Ltd, Pantomath Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd, and Equirus Capital Pvt. Ltd.
NSE will select the left and right lead bankers from this list of 20 over the next few weeks, a merchant banker part of the mandate said. The left lead banker takes the primary role in pricing and structuring the issue, and manages the overall IPO timeline. The right lead focuses on bringing in institutional and high-net-worth individual investors, while assisting the left lead in due diligence.
The rest of the bankers will focus on marketing the offer to domestic and global clients and syndicating sales.
Mega offer
The exchange began inviting bank pitches late last month, with 25-30 banks submitting pitches over the next two weeks. Most pitches from domestic firms focused on syndicating the offer, a second banker part of the IPO mandate said. The large number of bankers is necessitated by the potential size of the offer. Initial estimates based on unlisted stock price suggest the sale could raise $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion.
NSE may sell 4-4.5% stake in the IPO, which might take up to eight months, chief executive officer Ashishkumar Chauhan had told reporters last month.
NSE has also appointed eight law firms to advise on the transaction: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co, Latham & Watkins LLP, Sidley Austin Singapore Pte, AZB & Partners, S&R Associates, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, and Trilegal. NSE’s IPO committee, chaired by Srinivas Injeti, has formally approved these appointments.
Following these appointments, Rothschild & Co. has completed its mandate as the process advisor for the selection of the IPO intermediaries.
End of delay
This marks the latest development in the country’s largest stock exchange’s efforts to list on the bourses after a prolonged delay. The process was kickstarted on 30 January when NSE got a “no-objection” notification from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), ending a regulatory delay that had lasted nearly a decade.
The NSE board then approved the listing plan on 6 February, appointing a committee led by Life Insurance Corp. of India’s (LIC) former managing director Tablesh Pandey. Pandey currently serves as a non-independent director on the NSE board. Pandey, who retired as LIC’s managing director effective 31 May 2025, is also a director of ITC Hotels Ltd.
India’s largest life insurer is the single-largest shareholder, with a 10.7% stake as of December-end. The exchange’s third-quarter profit rose 15% sequentially to ₹2,409 crore, while its revenue from operations increased 7% to ₹3,925 crore.
NSE’s operating income, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), almost doubled to ₹2,851 crore, while its margin widened to 73% from the September quarter’s 40%. Margin improved as other expenses fell to ₹542 crore from ₹1,811 crore, driven by one-time provisioning in the prior quarter.
