BSE IPO gets Sebi nod; may raise Rs 1,500 crore

This IPO will see sale of 3 crore shares by the existing shareholders through OFS route

Paving the way for BSE’s initial public offering (IPO) launch, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given its final go-ahead to the draft prospectus for the estimated Rs 1,500-crore IPO by Asia’s oldest exchange.

The much-awaited IPO will see sale of 29,955,434 shares by the existing shareholders through the offer for sale (OFS) route. This works out to close to 30 per cent of the total holding.

Among the existing shareholders are Bajaj Holdings Investment, Caldwell India Holdings, Acacia Banyan Partners, Singapore Exchange, Mauritius-based arms of American investor George Soros’ Quantum Fund and foreign fund Atticus.

The exchange had filed draft papers with the regulator in September to float an IPO. It received Sebi’s ‘observation’ on December 30, which is necessary for any company to launch public offer, the latest update available with Sebi showed.

Sources said the shares could be offered at a price of as high as Rs 500 each, giving the IPO a size of up to Rs 1,500 crore. Even at the lower end of the band, the IPO should be worth about Rs 1,200-1,300 crore, they added.