NSDL's IPO Likely To Be Delayed Until May Due To Addendum To Draft Papers, Sources Say

National Securities Depository Ltd. is likely to delay its Rs 3,000-crore initial public offering until May, according to people familiar with the matter.

While the company's draft red herring prospectus was approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, they have been asked to make an addendum to the document with their financials for the quarter ended December, which is expected to subsequently delay the launch of the offering by another 30 days, the people told NDTV Profit on the condition of anonymity.

An addendum is a document that adds new information to an existing document. It updates the original document with new details. In this case, NSDL will have to add its financial results for the quarter ended December to its draft red herring prospectus as an addendum.

Last month, sources told NDTV Profit that the company's aim is to launch and close the IPO by April.

SEBI had approved NSDL's IPO in October. The Mumbai-based securities depository’s offering will only include an offer for sale. NSDL had filed the draft red herring prospectus for the IPO with the regulator in July 2023. It plans to sell up to 5.72 crore equity shares with a face value of Rs 2 each, according to the draft prospectus.

ICICI Securities Ltd. is the lead book-running manager for the IPO, along with Axis Capital Ltd., SBI Capital Markets Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd., Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd., and IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd.

NSDL reported its financial performance for the third quarter of the fiscal year, with net profit rising 29.8% year-on-year to Rs 85.80 crore from Rs 66.09 crore in the same period last year. Total income for the Mumbai-based depository increased by 16.2% to Rs 391.21 crore, compared to Rs 336.66 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

NSDL is India's largest depository, measured by multiple parameters, including the number of issuers, active instruments, market share in demat settlement volume, and the value of assets under custody, as of March 31, 2023.

Its competitor, Central Depository Services Ltd., went public in 2017 and had a market capitalisation of Rs 23,103.91 crore as of Monday’s close.