NSDL Plans Rs 3,000-Crore IPO By April, Say Sources

NSDL plans to launch its Rs 3,000-crore initial public offering by April, according to people familiar with the matter.

While one person quoted above told NDTV Profit on condition of anonymity that the offering is expected in March, another said the aim is to launch and close the IPO by April.

India’s securities market regulator—Securities and Exchange Board of India—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.

As a market infrastructure institution, NSDL requires additional approvals apart from the draft red herring prospectus before launching the IPO.

NSDL's competitor, Central Depository Services Ltd., went public in 2017 and had a market capitalisation of Rs 26,109.3 crore as of Thursday’s close.

Last week, 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.