Rs 322 cr dividend, multibagger returns: RK Damani's estimated gains from NSE unlisted shares

Veteran Dalal Street investor Radhakishan Damani has generated stellar returns from his investments in National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) over the past five years. Damani, whose name was first seen among key shareholders in December 2020 quarter, owned 78,16,880 equity shares, or 1.58 per cent stake, in the stock exchange, five years ago.

Sandip Ginodia, CEO of Kolkata-based Altius Investech said, "We and RK Damani were allotted shares of NSE in the same round of auction in FY2019-2020 when IFCI sold unlisted shares of the stock exchange for Rs 800-850 per share."

"However, the exact price of his investments is not possible to ascertain. He probably invested around Rs 650-700 crore in NSE and is still holding to that investment, according to the latest shareholding pattern. India's leading exchange has been a real wealth creator for value investors like Damani in less than five years," Ginodia said.

If one goes by what Ginodia said and given the prevailing price of unlisted NSE shares, Damani has seen his investment value soaring 12-13 times (adjusted prices) -- from Rs 650-700 crore to Rs 8,800-9,000 crore based on the current unlisted share price of Rs 2,250-2,300 per share.

Damani currently owns 3,90,84,400 equity shares of NSE as the stock turned ex-bonus in 1:4 ratio on November 04, 2024, for which the record date was set at November 02, 2025. His percentage holding stayed intact all these years.

Since his NSE stake purchase -- and before ex-bonus adjustment, NSE had announced a dividend of Rs 24.75 per share for FY2020-21, a dividend of Rs 42 per share for FY2021-22, a dividend of Rs 80 per share for FY2022-23 and a dividend of Rs 90 per share for FY2023-2024, suggests the annual reports of the exchange. The cumulative dividend for four years turned out to be Rs 236.75 per share.

This suggested that Damani would have received more than Rs 185 crore as dividend from NSE for these four fiscal years. NSE, post bonus issue, announced a dividend of Rs 35 per share for FY25, which would translate into a dividend of nearly Rs 137 crore for RK Damani, as per his NSE holding as of March 31, 2025. The record date for the dividend is yet to be announced.

This implies that Damani would have received a total dividend of around Rs 322 crore in five years from NSE investment. The 5-year dividend yield ranges between 46-49.5 per cent, depending on the exact entry price. That’s an average annual yield of 9.2-9.9 per cent, not accounting for capital appreciation.

According to the shareholding pattern of NSE as of March 31, 2025, more than 39,200 shareholders owned it's all 247.50 crore equity shares or 100 per cent stake. However, since the beginning of FY26, the total number of NSE shareholders have topped Rs 1 lakh crore mark, amid its IPO buzz.

A diverse base of shareholders over more than 1 lakh in number make NSE one of the largest unlisted floats in Indian corporate history, said InCred Money. "With regulatory clarity improving and legacy issues being addressed, the path to listing now looks clearer than ever," it said.