Why India's Superstar Investors are Skipping the Massive NSE IPO

As the National Stock Exchange (NSE) prepares for what is set to be India's largest-ever initial public offering, a fascinating divide has emerged among its shareholders. While institutional giants race to monetize decades of growth, a group of India’s most legendary individual investors has chosen to hold their positions firmly.

The Great Holdout: High-Profile Investors Rejecting Exit

The proposed ₹30,000 crore NSE IPO is structured entirely as an Offer for Sale (OFS), meaning existing shareholders are selling their stakes to new investors. However, several "superstar" investors are opting out of this massive liquidity event, signaling deep confidence in the exchange's long-term trajectory.

Leading the list is retail tycoon Radhakishan Damani, who holds approximately 3.9 crore shares (a 1.58% stake). Based on recent unlisted market trades of ₹2,055 per share, Damani’s holding is valued at a staggering ₹8,032 crore—a sum that exceeds the expected realizations of several exiting institutions.

Other notable names refusing to sell include:

  • Sunil Kant Munjal (Hero Group): Holding 1.02 crore shares worth ~₹2,040 crore.
  • S. Gopalakrishnan (Infosys Co-founder): Holding 94.29 lakh shares worth ~₹1,886 crore.
  • Ignatius Navil Noronha (DMart CEO): Holding 30 lakh shares worth ~₹600 crore.
  • Dolly Khanna, Raamdeo Agrawal, and Motilal Oswal: All opting to retain their respective stakes rather than booking profits.

Even the largest shareholder, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), is not participating in the OFS, choosing to maintain its ~11% stake intact.

The Contrast: Institutional Windfalls and Massive Returns

While the individual legends are holding, public sector institutions are gearing up for historic exits. The scale of profit for these entities is almost unimaginable. State Bank of India (SBI) is selling 2.47 crore shares, which is expected to yield a massive 256,775% profit on its original investment.

Similarly, public insurers like New India Assurance and National Insurance—who originally acquired shares at just 32 paise—are looking at returns of up to 6,422 times. Global players like Temasek and Morgan Stanley are also participating, eyeing returns in the range of 31x to 33x.

Valuation and Market Context

NSEのIPOは、1株あたりの想定価格を2,000ルピーとした場合、取引所の時価総額が約5兆ルピー（520億ドル）に達すると予想されています。2026年度の予想利益に基づくと、これにより同取引所の株価収益率（P/E）は49倍、株価純資産倍率（P/B）は15倍となります。

興味深いことに、市場シェアが圧倒的であるにもかかわらず、このバリュエーションにより、NSEは競合するBSEよりも「割安」に見えます。BSEは66倍を超える大幅に高いP/Eで取引されています。規制により、取引所が自社のプラットフォームに上場することは禁止されているため、NSEの株式はBSEに上場されることになります。

主なポイント

  • 戦略的な静観: Radhakishan Damani氏やLICのようなトップクラスの投資家は、3兆ルピー規模のOFSへの参加を拒否しており、これは長期的な確信を示しています。
  • 前例のないリターン: SBIやNew India Assuranceのような機関投資家（売り手）は、数千パーセントから数十万パーセントに及ぶ天文学的な利益を得ることになります。
  • 記録的な規模: NSEのIPOは、Hyundai Motor Indiaが樹立した2.7兆ルピーの記録を塗り替えることになり、インドの資本市場における歴史的な出来事となるでしょう。