National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. has lowered the price range for its long-awaited initial public offering and may shrink the stake on sale, according to people familiar with the matter, putting what was set to be India’s biggest-ever listing out of reach.
The exchange is likely to price its shares at 1,700 rupees to 1,785 rupees apiece, below an earlier marketed range of 2,000 rupees to 2,100 rupees, the people said asking not to be identified because the information is private. It may also reduce the stake being offered to about 5.5% of the total equity capital from the originally planned 6%, after some shareholders backed out of selling their stakes at the lower price, they said.
At the top of the proposed range, the sale of a 5.5% stake would raise about 243 billion rupees ($2.6 billion), below the 279 billion rupees raised by Hyundai Motor India Ltd. in 2024 in the country’s largest-ever IPO. That would value NSE at as much as 4.42 trillion rupees ($46.6 billion), compared with a previously targeted a valuation of as much as 5.26 trillion rupees.
The cut in the deal size reflects concerns about the ability of India’s primary market to absorb a wave of major deals at the same time, with Jio Platforms Ltd. also progressing toward what could be one of the country’s biggest-ever IPOs. First-time share sales in the country have raised almost $10 billion so far in 2026, compared with more than $20 billion in each of the previous two years that both set records, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
NSE, the operator of the world’s largest derivatives exchange by trading volume, is expected to announce the price range this week and open the IPO for subscription in the week beginning Sept. 14, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and details including the price range and timing could still change, the people said.
A representative for NSE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The exchange filed its draft prospectus in June for an offering consisting entirely of secondary shares. India’s market regulator approved the IPO prospectus on Sept. 4.
Morgan Stanley, Temasek Holdings Pte, State Bank of India, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd., General Insurance Corp. of India, New India Assurance Co. Ltd., National Insurance Co. Ltd. and Oriental Insurance Co. are among the shareholders selling stakes in the offering, according to the filing.
