NSE IPO DRHP filed: key sellers, top holders at ₹2,000

The filing that moves NSE closer to listing

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), taking a key step toward a long-awaited initial public offering. The move comes after years of regulatory and legal hurdles that delayed the exchange’s listing plans. The proposed issue is expected to be largely structured as an offer-for-sale (OFS), aimed at unlocking value for existing shareholders rather than raising fresh capital for NSE.

The DRHP has also drawn attention to NSE’s unusually broad shareholder base. It spans public sector institutions, insurers, foreign funds, marquee individual investors, and a large base of retail shareholders. Market interest is elevated because NSE is a key market infrastructure institution and because the unlisted market has seen NSE shares trading above ₹2,000, according to the provided reports.

Offer-for-sale: who is expected to sell

Multiple reports linked to the DRHP indicate that several well-known institutions plan to participate in the OFS. State Bank of India (SBI) is among the key selling shareholders. Bloomberg reported SBI is expected to realise around ₹5,000 crore by offloading 24.75 million shares (about 2.475 crore shares). Another report also cites SBI’s planned sale at about 24.7 million shares.

Other shareholders referenced as participating in the OFS include MS Strategic (Mauritius), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Aranda Investments (Mauritius), Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India, General Insurance Corporation of India, National Insurance Company, and United India Insurance Company. The presence of multiple Mauritius-based entities in the shareholder list also stands out, reflecting the exchange’s history of institutional and cross-border ownership.

LIC’s position and other non-diluting large holders

The DRHP-based coverage highlights that Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is a major shareholder. LIC is reported as holding around a 10.72% stake in NSE and is not selling any stake, according to the provided transcript-style notes.

The documents and related reports also indicate that not all large shareholders plan to dilute. In one account, SBI Capital Markets is mentioned as a significant shareholder that is not diluting its stake, even as SBI itself is listed as a selling shareholder in the OFS. Another transcript-style note adds that, at a combined level, SBI Group (SBI Capital and SBI) is described as holding around 7% in the company.

Damani, Munjal, and other well-known individual shareholders

A key part of the DRHP discussion has been the value that could be unlocked for individual shareholders if the listing happens near widely cited assumptions. At an assumed IPO price of ₹2,000 per share, DMart promoter Radhakishan Damani’s stake is one of the most discussed.

Damani is reported to hold 39.08 million shares (about 3.90 crore shares), translating to a 1.58% stake in NSE. At ₹2,000 per share, this holding is valued at ₹7,817 crore in the reports. The DRHP-linked coverage notes that the price at which he acquired the shares is not disclosed.

Other prominent names include Sunil Kant Munjal of the Hero Group, who holds 1.02 crore shares (0.41%), valued at ₹2,040 crore at the assumed price. Infosys co-founder S. Gopalakrishnan holds 94.29 lakh shares (0.38%), valued at ₹1,886 crore.

Smaller but widely tracked holdings: senior executives and market investors

The DRHP-linked coverage also lists several other investors whose holdings are smaller in percentage terms but still material in value at the assumed price point. Ignatius Navil Noronha, CEO and MD of DMart, holds 30 lakh shares (0.12%), valued at ₹600 crore. Ace investor Dolly Khanna is cited as holding 15.17 lakh shares (0.06%), valued at ₹303 crore.

Another individual investor, Siddharth Balachandran, is reported to hold a 0.38% stake valued at ₹1,863 crore. Veteran investor Vanaja Sundar Iyer’s 44 lakh shares are valued at ₹880 crore. The broader list of individual investors includes many names with stakes ranging between 0.05% and 0.30%, with reported holding values between ₹140 crore and ₹300 crore.

Institutional and overseas ownership highlighted in the filing

Beyond Indian institutions and well-known individuals, the DRHP coverage lists multiple foreign and institutional investors among large shareholders. Entities cited include Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd (4.54%), PI Opportunities Fund I (2.35%), Crown Capital Ltd (2.07%), and DVI Fund (Mauritius) Ltd (1.83%).

Other notable shareholders holding over 1% include TIMF Holdings (1.75%), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (1.60%), TA Asia Pacific Acquisitions Ltd (1.40%), MS Strategic (Mauritius) Ltd (1.20%), 2726247 Ontario Inc. (1.09%), and Rimco (Mauritius) Ltd (1.00%). Another report adds that select overseas funds and sovereign wealth funds cumulatively own 65.97 crore equity shares (26.66%).

Retail investors: a meaningful slice of NSE’s shareholding

The filing also points to the scale of retail ownership. As per the provided report, more than 1.85 lakh retail investors held 30.75 crore equity shares, representing a 12.42% stake in NSE. This is an unusually large retail base for a company that is not yet listed on the public market.

Alongside retail investors, the DRHP-based reporting says the 20 shareholders owning at least 1% each together account for 52.76% of NSE’s pre-offer equity share capital, representing over 1.30 billion equity shares.

Key figures at a glance

Market impact: what the DRHP reveals, and what it does not

The DRHP filing itself is a milestone because it signals progress toward a listing that investors have tracked for years. It also provides a clearer picture of who may sell in the OFS and who may remain invested, which matters for supply expectations and ownership continuity.

At the same time, many valuations discussed publicly depend on assumed pricing, including the ₹2,000 per share reference used across multiple reports. The DRHP-linked coverage also flags that certain investor cost prices are not disclosed, meaning the eventual realised gains for individual shareholders cannot be calculated from the available information.

Why this matters: governance, liquidity, and shareholder exits

NSE’s shareholder mix matters because it includes public sector banks, state-owned insurers, foreign funds, and prominent individuals. An IPO dominated by OFS would be consistent with the stated goal of unlocking value for existing investors. It also offers a potential liquidity event for long-term holders, including institutions that may be rebalancing exposures.

The wide distribution of holdings, including a sizeable retail base and many small individual stakes, underlines how unusual NSE’s pre-listing ownership has become over time. The DRHP-based reports also suggest investors are watching who sells and who stays, particularly among large institutions and well-known individual shareholders.

What to watch next

One of the reports indicates NSE’s market debut could happen in the third quarter of the current financial year, between October and December. The next set of milestones will depend on SEBI’s review process and subsequent steps disclosed by the exchange and selling shareholders.

For investors tracking the story, the DRHP has already provided a detailed snapshot of ownership and OFS participation. The remaining clarity will come from updates on issue structure, final pricing, and the confirmed timeline as the process moves forward.