When is NSE IPO coming? A Motilal Oswal report may have an answer

NSE IPO News: NSE, analysts believe, may receive clearance from market regulator Sebi to file its IPO prospectus as early as this month, i.e. July 2025

NSE IPO, NSE IPO date: The wait for the long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) may be far from over. According to the latest update on the NSE IPO timeline, investors may have to wait till March 2026 in order to apply for the offering, suggest analysts.

 

NSE IPO date: Latest update

A recent report by Motilal Oswal Private Wealth has shared an expected timeline for the launch of NSE IPO.

 

NSE, they believe, may receive clearance from market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to file its IPO prospectus as early as this month, i.e. July 2025, if the co-location and dark fibre cases are settled.

 

"Once Sebi issues a no-objection certificate (NOC), the NSE would likely take 4-5 months to prepare its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), followed by another 2-3 months for regulatory review. If all proceeds smoothly, NSE could be listed on the BSE by the fourth quarter of the current financial year (Q4FY26)," it said.

 

Notably, Ashish Chauhan, managing director and chief executive officer (MD and CEO) of NSE, shared a similar timeline for the launch of NSE IPO.

 

In a recent interview with Gujarati news channel CNBC Bajar, Chauhan said NSE has submitted an application to Sebi to receive a NOC for the IPO.

 

"Once we have the NOC in place, the NSE will prepare its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in 3-4 months. The regulator will take another three months to review the DRHP and share its feedback. Overall, we expect the IPO to come out 8-9 months after the NOC has been received," he said in the interview.

 

Remember, the NSE MD and CEO's statement comes after the stock exchange, on June 20, offered the biggest-ever payment of ₹1,388 crore to settle the colocation and dark fibre cases.     

NSE IPO: Investors glued to the launch date

Investors have had their eyes peeled for NSE's IPO for a really long time now. That's because NSE is one of the leading stock exchanges in India. It's the world's largest multi-asset class exchange, and the second largest equity exchange in the world. That apart, NSE is also the largest derivatives exchange globally, and was the sixth largest exchange by market capitalisation (based on the market value of its unlisted shares), at the end of 2024, worldwide, as per World Federations of Exchanges (WFE) .

 

Further, at the end of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), NSE cornered a market share of 93.6 per cent in the domestic equity cash market; 99.9 per cent market share in equity futures; 87.4 per cent share in equity options; 93.6 per cent share in forex futures; and 99.7 per cent share in forex options.

 

These calculations are based on premium turnover at the end of March, 2025, as per the Motilal Oswal report.

 

NSE Financials

NSE closed the previous financial year (FY25) with a revenue from operations of ₹17,141 crore, clocking a growth of 16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). It's net profit stood at ₹12,188 crore, up 47 per cent Y-o-Y.

 

The exchange closed the year with Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) and PAT margins of 74 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively, reports suggest.

 

As of March 31, 2025, NSE's earnings per share (EPS) and return on equity (RoE) stood at ₹49 and 45 per cent, respectively. 

 

NSE IPO: Should you invest?

According to analysts at Motilal Oswal Private Wealth, NSE's dominant market share of 94 per cent in cash equities, 99 per cent in equity index futures, and 88 per cent in equity index options premium makes it a compelling capital market play.

 

The exchange's growth prospects, it said, remains strong as India has one of the lowest retail participation rates (around 3-4 per cent), compared to countries like the US (over 55-60 per cent), leaving a huge untapped market.

 

Thirdly, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth believes the knee-jerk impact of F&O regulations is also behind us as the trading volumes have picked up. "Following the implementation of F&O regulations, there has been a recovery in volumes. NSE’s options premium ADTO (Avg Daily Turnover) recovered from a low of ₹47,900 crore in Feb'25 to ₹58,200 crore in Apr'25. The impact on topline was softened by the improvement in premium ratios and increase in average ticket size," it said.

 

NSE Unlisted shares: NSE IPO GMP estimates

The price of NSE unlisted shares have declined marginally over the past one month. From a high of ₹2,400, at the end of May 2025, NSE shares are available at a price of ₹2,285 per share in the grey market, according to data available on unlistedzone.com.

 

They hit a 52-week high of ₹6,200 and a 52-week low of ₹1,625 per share. NSE's current market capitalisation, as per the website, stands at ₹5.65 trillion.