The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Tuesday restarted the process of its long-pending public offer, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, which, if approved, could be one of the largest IPOs in the country.
The exchange has reapplied for a "no-objection" with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the IPO, the sources said, declining to be named.
An email query sent to NSE for comment was not answered immediately.
NSE, the world's largest derivatives exchange by volume, first applied for a listing in 2016, but faced a long-running case over equitable access for its trading members. In April 2019, the regulator fined NSE 11 billion rupees for not ensuring equitable access and returned its listing documents.
In June 2022, NSE requested to restart the IPO process, but SEBI, citing pending cases and regulatory issues, did not approve the application, Reuters reported a year ago.
"As per the initial plans the exchange wants to off-load 10% via public offer. So the IPO size could be around $3.2 billion," said the first of the two people cited above.
NSE is valued at 2.7 trillion Indian rupees ($32.18 billion) in the "grey market".
The IPO will offer an exit opportunity to its existing shareholders, including Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a Tiger Global fund and a Morgan Stanley fund.
For the June quarter, NSE saw a 39% year-on-year growth in consolidated profits at 25.67 billion Indian rupees. NSE's growth has largely been led by India's hot options trading market.
"Earlier this year NSE management had written to SEBI for settlement of all pending legal and regulatory cases," said the second of the two sources cited earlier in the story.