NSE selects four ibanks for IPO

Citi, JM, Kotak, Morgan Stanley selected as joint global co-ordinators

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has appointed Citigroup Global Markets, JM Financial Institutional Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Morgan Stanley India as joint global co-ordinators to manage its equity initial public offering (IPO). The decision was taken at the board meeting held on August 22.

The Board also appointed Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as legal advisor to the IPO. "With these steps, NSE expects the listing process to gain further momentum. NSE will consider appointment of more banks for additional roles as may be felt expedient," the exchange said in a note on Tuesday.

Other bankers still in the reckoning include ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, IDFC Capital, UBS, Credit Suisse and IDBI Capital, said sources. The exchange had invited final pitches from merchant bankers last week.

The Board also approved the appointment of Price Waterhouse & Co, Chartered Accountants LLP as joint statutory auditors for the financial year 2016-17 along with the current statutory auditors and as sole Statutory Auditors for the financial years 2017-21, subject to the approval and ratification of shareholders as may be applicable.

NSE's rival BSE has already appointed seven merchant bankers - Edelweiss Financial Services, Axis Capital, Jefferies, Nomura, Deutsche Bank, Motilal Oswal and SBI Capital Markets - to handle its IPO. BSE is looking to raise about Rs 1,200 crore from the IPO. NSE's issue size is expected to be larger.

The NSE board had in a meeting on June 23 given its nod to list in India and overseas. The exchange had said it would file a draft prospectus with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) by January 2017 for domestic listing, and another one for overseas listing by April next year.

According to an earlier report by Business Standard, NSE could get a premium valuation compared to global peers, thanks to higher growth potential in India. Mauritius-based Veracity Investments recently acquired a five per cent stake in NSE from State Bank of India for Rs 911 crore, valuing the exchange at Rs 18,200 crore.