NSDL raises Rs 1,201 crore from anchor investors ahead of IPO

National Securities Depository (NSDL) has raised Rs 1,201 crore from anchor investors ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), which opens for subscription today, July 30.

The company allocated 1.5 crore equity shares to anchor investors at the upper end of the price band, which is set between Rs 760 and Rs 800 per share, according to data disclosed to the stock exchanges.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) emerged as the largest anchor, picking up 12% of the total anchor book. LIC invested Rs 144 crore and was allotted nearly 18 lakh shares.

Among global and domestic institutions, Small Cap World Fund invested Rs 100 crore, accounting for 8.33% of the anchor allocation. Fidelity Funds – India Focus Funds picked up 5.41% with a Rs 65 crore investment, followed by Ashoka White Oak India Opportunities Fund (4.5%; Rs 54.1 crore), SBI Banking & Financial Services Fund (4.05%; Rs 48.59 crore), and Nippon Life India Trustee (3.66%; Rs 44 crore).

Other notable investors include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) – Monsoon and Amundi Funds New Silk Road, who together invested Rs 14 crore, amounting to 1.17% of the total allocation.

Indian mutual funds were also prominent participants. Around 53 lakh shares, or 35.27% of the anchor portion, were allotted to 12 domestic mutual funds across 22 schemes. These included SBI MF, ICICI MF, HDFC MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life, and JM Financial.

NSDL is India's first and largest securities depository. The entire issue is an offer for sale (OFS), which means the company will not receive any proceeds from the issue.

NSDL Details and Grey Market Sentiment

The IPO is entirely an offer for sale (OFS), meaning NSDL will not receive any proceeds. The grey market premium (GMP) stood at around 16% ahead of the issue opening, indicating moderate investor interest.

NSDL IPO: Financials and Valuation

NSDL reported a revenue of Rs 1,420 crore in FY25, marking a 12% increase year-on-year. Profit after tax rose 25% to Rs 343 crore. The company posted an EBITDA margin of 34.71%, reflecting strong operational efficiency.

NSDL has also diversified through its subsidiaries — NSDL Database Management (NDML) and NSDL Payments Bank — expanding into e-governance, regulatory technology, and digital banking.

At the upper end of the price band, the stock is valued at a P/E of 46.62x and P/B of 7.98x based on FY25 earnings. This compares with peer Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL), which trades at a higher P/E of 60.43x and P/B of 18.08x. However, NSDL has a larger share of demat assets and a broader service footprint.

Should You Subscribe?

Brokerages have largely recommended a ‘Subscribe’ rating to the NSDL IPO for long-term investors. Anand Rathi and Canara Bank Securities cite NSDL’s near-monopoly scale in the depository ecosystem, healthy financials, wide product coverage, and strategic relevance to India’s capital market infrastructure as key positives.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)