NSE Raises Rs 6,746 Crore From Anchor Investors as LIC and Sovereign Funds Lead Landmark Pre-IPO Allocation

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) finalised the allocation of 3,77,93,739 equity shares to 189 anchor investors at the upper price band of Rs 1,785 per share, successfully raising Rs 6,746.18 crore ahead of its landmark initial public offering (IPO). The anchor book witnessed extraordinary institutional demand, drawing bids estimated at nearly Rs 1.2 lakh crore—roughly 20 times the allocated size.

The anchor mobilisation represents the third-largest anchor book in the history of Indian capital markets, trailing only the pre-IPO placements of Hyundai Motor India and One97 Communications.

LIC Leads Single-Investor Allotments

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which is already the largest single institutional shareholder in the exchange with a 10.72% stake, took the top spot in the anchor allocation. The state-owned insurer was directly allocated 22,42,584 equity shares, amounting to Rs 400.30 crore and representing 5.93% of the total anchor portion.

When combined with affiliated funds—including LICI ULF-Growth Fund (Rs 40 crore) and LICI New Pension Plus Growth Fund (Rs 10 crore)—the LIC group absorbed a substantial portion of the allocation.

Domestic Institutions Take 53% Share

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), spanning mutual funds, insurance companies, and pension managers, accounted for approximately 53% of the anchor issue, securing shares worth Rs 3,588 crore.

A total of 29 domestic mutual funds, applying through 98 distinct schemes, secured 13,977,524 equity shares valued at Rs 2,494.99 crore, or 36.98% of the anchor book. In addition, 27 life insurance firms and pension funds accounted for 6,060,744 equity shares, or 16.04% of the allocation, representing Rs 1,081.84 crore.

Key Domestic Mutual Fund Participants:

• SBI Mutual Fund
• ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund
• HDFC Mutual Fund
• Nippon India Mutual Fund
• Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund
• Axis Mutual Fund
• Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund
• UTI Mutual Fund

Prominent non-LIC domestic institutional participants included SBI Life Insurance Company, HDFC Life Insurance Company, SBI Pension Funds, HDFC Pension Fund, UTI Pension Fund, and Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance.

Global Sovereign Wealth and Pension Funds Form 43% of Book

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) contributed Rs 2,883 crore, representing roughly 43% of the anchor issue. The overseas book saw wide participation from long-only institutions, sovereign wealth managers, and multilateral pension funds.

Top Global Institutional Allocations:

• Societe Generale: Offshore derivative instrument desk secured 1.77 million shares valued at Rs 316 crore.
• Government Pension Fund Global (Norway): Picked up 1,400,560 shares worth Rs 250 crore.
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): Allocated 1,120,448 shares worth Rs 200 crore.
• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA Monsoon): Allocated 1,120,448 shares worth Rs 200 crore.
• Fidelity Funds (India Focus Fund): Allotted 998,520 shares aggregating Rs 178.24 crore.
• Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore): Received an allocation valued at Rs 174.99 crore.

Additional marquee global institutions participating in the placement included Goldman Sachs, GIC Singapore, Carmignac Portfolio, Eastspring Investments, and HSBC Global Asset Management.

IPO Structure and Listing Timeline

The NSE public issue is entirely an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 12.64 crore equity shares by existing shareholders, amounting to an issue size of Rs 22,561.57 crore at the upper end of the price band of Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,785 per share. Since the issue comprises purely secondary share sales, the exchange itself will receive no proceeds from the offer.

The public offering opens for retail and non-institutional subscription on September 17 and closes on September 21. With a market capitalization pegged at approximately Rs 4.42 lakh crore at the top end of the band, the listing will establish NSE among India's most valuable financial institutions when its shares debut on the BSE.

Tags: National Stock Exchange Life Insurance Corporation of India SEBI Capital Markets Initial Public Offering