NSE IPO: Who Are the Biggest Beneficiaries of the Mega OFS?

Ever wondered what happens when a company you cannot even buy shares of yet finally opens its doors to the public? That is exactly the buzz around the National Stock Exchange of India right now. The NSE IPO is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about listings in the history of the country’s primary markets, and it is not only the exchange that stands to gain. 

A small group of early backers, who picked up their stakes years ago for next to nothing, are sitting on a windfall worth thousands of crores. Let us break down who they are and how much each is set to pocket.

What We Know About the NSE IPO So Far

The National Stock Exchange has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cleared it. NSE has since moved ahead with updated IPO documents, with the final price band and issue size yet to be formally announced.

Here is how the offer is put together:

• The entire issue is an Offer for Sale (OFS), which means existing shareholders are selling and no fresh capital is being raised by the exchange itself.
• The original DRHP proposed an OFS of up to 148.91 million equity shares, each with a face value of ₹1
• NSE shares have been trading around the ₹2,000 level in the unlisted market. However, recent reports indicate that the IPO price band could be lower, at around ₹1,700-₹1,785 per share. The final price band and issue size are yet to be formally announced.

(Source: Outlook Money, Times of India, DRHP)

Prominent Individual Shareholders in NSE

Alongside institutional shareholders and insurance companies, several prominent Indian investors are also shareholders in NSE. The list includes names such as Radhakishan Damani, Sunil Kant Munjal, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Siddharth Balachandran, Dolly Khanna and Raamdeo Agrawal.

Among these investors, Radhakishan Damani has the largest holding, with around 3.908 crore NSE shares, representing approximately 1.58% of the company. Based on the indicative valuation, his stake could be worth around ₹8,599 crore.

Sunil Kant Munjal holds around 0.41% of the company, while Kris Gopalakrishnan holds approximately 94.29 lakh shares or 0.38% of the company. These holdings could make prominent shareholders an important part of the NSE IPO story. However, the actual value they may realise will depend on factors such as the final IPO price, the number of shares offered and the eventual listing price.

Note: The values mentioned above are indicative calculations based on reported shareholdings. They should not be interpreted as guaranteed IPO proceeds or listing values and the estimated price is  ₹2,200 per share.

(Source: India Infoline, Times of India)

Major Selling Shareholders in the NSE IPO

The selling shareholders span public sector banks, global pension and investment funds, and state-owned insurers. They are State Bank of India, SBI Capital Markets, MS Strategic (Mauritius), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Aranda Investments (Mauritius), Bank of Baroda, Stock Holding Corporation of India, General Insurance Corporation of India, The New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company.

The following table highlights some of the major selling shareholders based on the DRHP and subsequent disclosures. Here is how the numbers stack up, based on the upper unlisted price of ₹2,040 per share and ranked by estimated gain:

Note: The estimated sale values and gains are indicative calculations based on an assumed price of ₹2,040 per share, reflecting the upper end of the unlisted-market price cited by Outlook Money. They do not represent the final NSE IPO price, actual proceeds or guaranteed gains.

Note: Bank of Baroda’s latest filing disclosed the sale of 7,690,375 shares. Its original DRHP disclosed a weighted average acquisition cost of ₹0.54 per NSE share. The sale value and gain above are illustrative calculations based on an assumed price of ₹2,040 per share. They do not represent the final IPO price, actual proceeds or guaranteed gains.

Note: SBI’s original proposed sale of 24.75 million shares was subsequently split between State Bank of India and SBI Capital Markets, with SBI offering up to 15.97 million shares and SBI Capital Markets offering up to 8.78 million shares.

(Source: Outlook Money, IIFL Capital, livemint)

The Standout Winners

State Bank of India comes out on top on gains. The lender is paring up to 15.97 million shares, one of the largest blocks in the whole OFS, bought at a weighted average cost of just ₹0.80 per share. That is a total outlay of only ₹1.28 crore. At ₹2,040 per share, the stake could fetch ₹3,257.88 crore, handing SBI a gross gain of ₹3,256.60 crore. In other words, a near-negligible investment turns into a multi-thousand-crore windfall.

MS Strategic (Mauritius) offers the most shares of anyone, up to 16 million, bought at ₹66.54 each for a total of ₹106.46 crore. That block could be worth ₹3,264.00 crore, the highest sale value on the list, giving a gain of ₹3,157.54 crore. Aranda Investments (Mauritius) is letting go of up to 11.24 million shares picked up for ₹70.15 crore. At the upper mark, that fetches ₹2,294.25 crore, a gain of ₹2,224.10 crore.

The state-owned insurers do handsomely too. General Insurance Corporation of India stands to gain around ₹2,168.63 crore, The New India Assurance Company roughly ₹2,141.66 crore, while National Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company each look at close to ₹1,223 crore. Stock Holding Corporation of India, which bought in at just ₹0.46 a share, is set for a ₹2,221.06 crore gain.

Two SBI-linked names round things off. SBI Capital Markets, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI, is offloading up to 8.78 million shares for an estimated ₹1,790.42 crore gain. And Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which paid the steepest entry price at ₹324.13 per share, still comes away with an estimated ₹2,037.43 crore.

(Source: Outlook Money)

Bank of Baroda’s Latest Move

Bank of Baroda confirmed its participation in a fresh exchange filing. On Tuesday, 8 September, the bank said it plans to divest up to 76,90,375 equity shares, equal to 35% of its holding in the NSE, through the OFS, subject to all regulatory approvals. The shares were moved to an escrow account on 8 September 2026, and the sale is expected to be completed by the end of September 2026. The bank has not disclosed its acquisition cost, so its exact gain is not yet known.

(Source: livemint)

Conclusion

The NSE IPO is much more than a headline number. It is a historic wealth-unlocking moment for the exchange and its founding institutional investors, several of whom have turned fractional initial investments into multi-thousand-crore windfalls. With Dalal Street awaiting the price band, the NSE IPO is widely viewed as a bellwether for the health of India’s capital markets.

One important caveat before you take any figure to the bank. Every sale value and gain here is an estimate pinned to the unlisted price of ₹2,040 per share. The actual numbers will only be locked once the official price band is announced, so treat these as strong indications rather than final results.

Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. This content is purely for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation. Securities quoted are for illustration purposes only and not recommendatory. Investors are requested to do their own due diligence before investing.

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