National Stock Exchange of India is preparing for its anticipated initial public offering, with a targeted valuation of Rs 6 lakh crore to Rs 7 lakh crore, according to market-related information. If the valuation reaches the upper end of this range, the exchange could be among India’s most valuable listed companies.
Market participants indicated that the offering could set a new record in India’s IPO history, potentially surpassing the Rs 27,870 crore IPO of Hyundai Motor India.
The exchange is targeting a valuation between Rs 6 lakh crore and Rs 7 lakh crore for the proposed IPO, sources said. In the unlisted market, NSE’s valuation is currently estimated at around Rs 5 lakh crore. If the valuation reaches Rs 7 lakh crore at the time of listing, it would indicate an increase of about 40 percent.
The proposed IPO is expected to be entirely structured as an Offer For Sale, meaning the company will not issue new shares and existing investors will sell a portion of their holdings.
Existing shareholders may divest between 4.5 percent and 5 percent stake in the IPO. Based on a valuation range of Rs 6 lakh crore to Rs 7 lakh crore, the total issue size could be between Rs 28,000 crore and Rs 38,000 crore. If realised, this would make it the largest IPO in India.
Hyundai Motor India’s IPO, sized at approximately Rs 27,870 crore and launched in October 2024, is currently the largest in the country. The proposed NSE offering could surpass this record if the issue size exceeds Rs 30,000 crore.
Despite the large issue size, fees for investment bankers may be relatively lower. Investment bankers managing the Hyundai Motor India IPO earned about Rs 493 crore in fees, equivalent to around 1.77 percent of the issue size.
In comparison, NSE may pay fees in the range of Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore for its IPO, to be shared among the appointed bankers.
NSE has appointed 20 investment bankers to manage the offering, of which four are global banks and the remainder are primarily domestic financial institutions. The exchange has also appointed eight legal advisors for the process.
According to sources, NSE may file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India within the next four to six weeks. The exchange stated in an official communication that its board approved the IPO via the Offer For Sale route on February 6, based on a No Objection Certificate issued by the regulator. The company added that it is not appropriate to disclose further details at this stage.
NSE remains a dominant exchange in India’s equity markets, with an approximate 93 percent market share in the cash equity segment. In February, the exchange reported an average daily turnover of about Rs 1.23 lakh crore in the cash segment.
In the equity derivatives segment, NSE holds an average daily turnover share of approximately 57 percent.
In recent months, the exchange’s performance has moderated, partly attributed to regulatory tightening in the derivatives market and the impact of market corrections following record levels reached in September 2024.
For the nine months ended December 2025, NSE reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 7,431 crore, compared with Rs 9,538 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Operating income declined to Rs 11,634 crore from Rs 13,369 crore in the same period.
