Institutional investors trim stake in NSE on listing uncertainties

18 November 2021

Institutional investors are cutting their holdings in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as the timing of a public listing for India’s biggest bourse remains uncertain. However, the delays have not deterred individual investors from betting on India’s most profitable capital-markets platform.

The number of public investors has risen from 865 to 1,449 during April – September 2021 period.

Citigroup is the latest one to have likely sold an estimated 2.2 million shares at about Rs 3,275 apiece on behalf of its institutional clients, two market sources told ET. Recently, Norwest Venture, an existing private equity investor in NSE also sold some of the shares. It is now pending with the NSE board, which will have to approve it, without which any secondary market transaction on its unlisted shares remains null and void.

Some other PE players are seeking to exit through the secondary market route. US-based Elevation Capital (formerly known as SAIF Partners), Temasek are looking for potential exits, market sources said. While Wealth management services at Kotak and JM Financial groups have bid for those securities in the unlisted market for their wealthy individual clients. The final outcome of the bids will likely come out in the next few days, sources said.

Life Insurance Corporation, the biggest investor in the exchange, held a 10.72 per cent stake as of September 33, 2021. Aranda Investments holds a 5 per cent stake, while Stock Holding Corporation, SBI Capital Market Veracity Investment own 4.44 per cent, 4.33 per cent, and 3.93 per cent stake. Billionaire investor and founder of D’Mart Radhakishan Damani picked up a 1.58 per cent stake in the bourse last year.