NSE IPO beats Hyundai, LIC, Paytm in subscription; how 5 largest issues fared

The Rs 22,569-crore NSE IPO ended with a strong 5.71 times subscription, making it the most subscribed among India’s five largest IPOs by issue size. The issue received bids for 50,58,11,384 shares against 8,86,42,911 shares on offer.

Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,858.75-crore issue received 1.93 times subscription in October 2024, while Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd's Rs 20,557.23-crore offer in May 2022 attracted 2.05 times subscription. One 97 Communications Ltd, or Paytm's, Rs 18,300-crore IPO in November 2021 garnered 1.48 times subscription, while Tata Capital's Rs 15,511.87-crore IPO in October 2025 was subscribed 1.65 times.

In terms of issue size, NSE now ranks second after Hyundai Motor India, pushing LIC to third, Paytm to fourth and Tata Capital to fifth. The Rs 15,199.44-crore Coal India IPO, which came in October 2010, is the only IPO among the country's large issues to have attracted a higher subscription, at 15.20 times. Coal India now ranks sixth by issue size.

The NSE IPO ran from September 17 to September 21 and is expected to get listed on BSE on September 24. The issue was sold in the Rs 1,700-1,785 price band.

What also set the NSE IPO apart was the absence of large institutional shareholders from the offer. NSE’s biggest shareholder, Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd (LIC), stayed out of the IPO, as did other large institutional investors.

This made the offer less about existing shareholders cashing out and more about a limited or 'token' sale, showcasing their continued confidence in India’s largest stock exchange and its untapped growth potential.

NSE ranks among the world’s largest multi-asset exchanges by trading activity, accounting for a significant share of global cash equity trades and equity derivative contracts.

Geojit Financial Services, in an IPO note, said NSE has benefited from its dominant position across India’s equity and derivatives markets, supported by strong network effects, a vast investor ecosystem and scalable technology infrastructure.

Its asset-light business model enabled consistently high margins and cash generation, while growing capital market participation and increasing financialisation provided a strong long-term growth runway, the brokerage said.

NSE’s debt platforms, index services and NSEIX operations at GIFT City extend its presence beyond domestic equity trading, ICICI Securities said.

"NSE remains a play on long term growth potential of India’s capital market. Dominant franchise, leadership, and sustained profitability driven by continued focus on technology and product innovation aids fundamental resilience," it said.