India's National Stock Exchange is not just any company going public. It runs the busiest derivatives venue globally, and in the market for unlisted shares it has been the headline act. Trading platform UnlistedZone estimates NSE made up roughly half of that activity. So while the IPO should add momentum to India's already hot new-issue market, it also threatens a sharp slowdown in private trades as the biggest draw leaves that arena.
For years, NSE's heft, profits, dominance and listed-like transparency made it the default pick for private transactions. Investors leaned on smaller listed rival BSE Ltd. as a yardstick for valuation, and long delays to NSE's own listing meant an unusually extended window for off-exchange share deals.
As India notched consecutive records for IPO proceeds during the past two years, wealthy investors and funds increasingly used the unlisted arena to make early wagers on firms approaching a listing. That surge spawned web-based marketplaces and specialist brokers connecting buyers and sellers. Intermediaries also popped up to steer investors through approvals, paperwork and transfers.
"NSE was quasi-listed," said Motilal Oswal Private Wealth's chief investment officer, Sandipan Roy. "It spawned an entire industry." The breadth showed up in the cap table. Ahead of the IPO, the exchange counted 231,378 shareholders, more than several listed companies, rising from under 80 in 2016, the company's December 2016 draft prospectus shows.
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Up until last year, NSE posted monthly share transfer data. In its last update, dated March 2025, almost 15 billion rupees, or about $170 million, of shares were recorded as having changed hands that month.
With NSE set to list, the private-share platforms that mushroomed in recent years face a tougher pitch. No other issuer currently offers NSE's mix of size, name recognition and liquidity, so platforms may need to nudge investors toward smaller companies that typically disclose less and trade more thinly.
"We expect interest in the unlisted market to remain selective as companies emerge across sectors such as space technology, aerospace, defense, data centers and other new-age industries," said Rajan Shah, founder of 3A Capital Services and operator of a marketplace for unlisted-share transactions. He said companies drawing attention include Sterlite Electric Ltd, Indofil Industries Ltd, Krasny Defence Technologies Ltd, Berar Finance Ltd, Kineco Ltd, Indian Potash Ltd and Garuda Aerospace Ltd.
The results have been mixed. Some marquee bets backfired: investors in names such as HDB Financial Services Ltd. and Tata Capital Ltd. booked losses, and buyers of NSE shares during the past year could arrive at the IPO still underwater. "There have also been instances of outsize returns in the unlisted market," said Umesh Paliwal, co-founder, UnlistedZone. "Ultimately, entry timing and valuations are critical."
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