14 hours ago
Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), a SEBI- registered market infrastructure institution (MII), which is backed by key shareholders IDBI Bank and NSE, is planning to launch its widely anticipated IPO for public subscription between July 30 and August 1, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol. The anchor book portion is scheduled for July 29, they added.
"The IPO will consist of a pure OFS or offer for sale, via which the firm plans to raise around $463 million (₹4,000 crore at current currency levels) ," one of the persons above told Moneycontrol. The launch dates may vary in case of any unforeseen market events, this person added.
A second person added that the firm was targeting an IPO valuation in the range of around $1.85 billion (₹16,000 crore at current currency levels)
"The anchor book is shaping up to be a really solid one with participation expected from top MFs and FII's," a third person familiar with the proposed launch timeline said.
All the three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
Email queries to NSDL and NSE were left unanswered at the time of publishing this article. When contacted, IDBI Bank declined to comment.
As of December 31, 2024, NSDL is the largest depository in India in terms of number of issuers, number of active instruments, market share in demat value of settlement volume and value of assets held under custody.
As per an addendum dated May 17 to the firm's draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), the IPO consists of an offer for sale up to 50,145,001 equity shares, with selling shareholders including IDBI Bank, NSE, Union Bank of India, SBI and administrator of the specified undertaking of the unit trust of India.
ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, HSBC Securities, IDBI Capital, Motilal Oswal and SBI Caps are the book running lead managers for the NSDL IPO.
On December 5, 2022, Moneycontrol was the first to report that NSDL had kicked off its IPO plans, a pure OFS (offer for sale) with NSE and IDBI Bank planning to sell stake.
IDBI and NSE own 26.01% stake and 24% stake respectively in NSDL and SEBI norms prohibit any single entity from owning more than 15% stake in any market infrastructure institution. The IPO gives both entities a window to dilute their stake.
NSDL is a professionally managed company and does not have any identifiable promoter. It is led by MD & CEO Vijay Chandok, an ex ICICI Group veteran. If the listing plans fructify, NSDL would become the second depository services company to be listed on the domestic bourses, post the bumper market debut of peer Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 2017.
CDSL, set up in 1999, raised ₹524 crore with the issue getting subscribed a whopping 170 times. The firm's stock price has surged by a staggering 961% in the last 5 years.
A closer look at NSDL
As of nine months ended December 31, 2024, NSDL had over 38.77 million demat accounts held with 289 depository participants registered with it. NSDL has an aggregate of 64,535 issuers registered with it, and its standalone operational revenue per investor account was ₹116.60, substantially higher than its peer. As of nine months ended December 31, 2024, NSDL had 53,169 unlisted companies registered with it as compared to CDSL with 21,295 unlisted companies.
"Consequent to the enactment of Depositories Act, 1996, the first depository in the country, NSDL, was set up which pioneered the dematerialisation of securities in India in November 1996. NSDL was one of the initial few depositories globally to directly implement dematerialization, bypassing the traditional two-step process of immobilization and subsequent dematerialization," the May 17 addendum to the DRHP said.
The introduction of the depository system brought about a notable transformation in trade settlement practices on stock exchanges and played a pivotal role in the implementation of rolling settlements in India, the addendum added.
Also Read: Macrotech Developers Block Deal: Investor likely to exit 1% stake in $165-million clean-out trade
