SEBI Approves Rs 3,000 Crore NSDL IPO
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given the go-ahead for the much-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) of National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), one of the key securities depositories in the Indian capital market. This development marks a significant milestone, as NSDL manages the majority of securities held and settled in dematerialised form in the country.
NSDL had filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus on July 7, 2023 with an intention to raise equity capital of up to Rs 1,400 crore through an initial public offer. The OFS would be an offer for sale by major shareholders, including the National Stock Exchange and IDBI Bank. The regulator, in a few instances, halted the IPO process when there were unfinished investigations or delays in receiving crucial information from the companies or other regulatory agencies.
According to the DRHP, the IPO will involve the sale of 57.3 million shares held by six stakeholders. IDBI Bank is set to offload up to 22.2 million shares, while NSE will divest 18 million shares, equivalent to a 9 percent stake in NSDL. Additionally, Union Bank of India will sell 5.62 million shares, with State Bank of India and the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) offering 4 million and 3.4 million shares, respectively. HDFC Bank will also participate in the sale, selling a 2 percent stake in NSDL, as it currently holds an 8.95 percent stake in the depository.
Once the IPO is concluded, NSDL will emerge as the second depository services company to be listed on public platforms in India, following the parent company, Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) After a stellar market debut in 2017. In the meanwhile, shares of CDSL traded around Rs 1,355 per share at 9:50 am, compared with its listing price of Rs 1,408 per share, and declined more than 1 percent on the same day.
