Sebi set to approve National Stock Exchange’s Rs2 lakh crore IPO
01 Dec 2021
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Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has allowed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to refile its prospectus for an initial public offer, which it will likely roll out in the upcoming weeks.
NSE’s IPO, once launched, will be the country’s biggest IPO, as it will likely have a valuation of over Rs2,00,000 crore.
The bourse had initially filed for the IPO as far back as in December 2016, which had to be withdrawn after Sebi initiated an investigation into the alleged data theft and preferential access scam at NSE co-location servers.
Later, in 2019, some senior NSE officials were charged by Sebi on allegations of lapses in its co-location trading systems that gave advantage to a select few, and Sebi ordered them to pay over Rs1,000-crore disgorgement amount.
However, Sebi’s current chairman Ajay Tyagi had taken charge only two months prior to this and he ordered Sebi to withdraw its filed documents as the regulator had gotten involved in the algo trading scandal.
However, legally now, the court has given no stay order on NSE’s proposed share sale. So in legal opinion, NSE can refile its prospectus. Alo, senior NSE officials against whom charges were pressed by the Sebi are no longer in the bourse.
NSE’s shares are being quoted currently in the range of Rs3,000-4,000 apiece, while its price to earnings ratio is in the range 80-100 in large private deals, against 38 for BSE stock.
NSE IPO is expected to be priced in the higher PE bracket, as the operating income of the bourse rose 60 per cent to Rs5,625 crore on a YoY basis, while the net profit increased by 89 per cent to Rs3,574 crore compared to Rs1,885 crore in the previous year.
