The NSDL IPO has quickly become one of the biggest talking points on Dalal Street this year. With the Rs 4,011 crore issue closing today, August 1, investors are closely tracking every update, from grey market trends to institutional response.
Coming just weeks after the HDB Financial Services listing, NSDL’s debut is not only the second-largest IPO of 2025 so far but also among the most anticipated, drawing a huge attention for its role in India’s financial infrastructure.
Here’s why this IPO has everyone from retail investors to global funds watching it so keenly.
NSDL IPO: India’s demat powerhouse
At the core of this IPO’s buzz is NSDL’s identity itself. Set up in 1996, NSDL is India’s first and largest securities depository. Long before digital investing became mainstream, NSDL was already transforming the way Indians handled their shares, shifting from slow, paper-based certificates to fast, secure digital transactions.
Today, NSDL holds electronic records for everything from equity shares to bonds and mutual funds, with assets under custody worth over Rs 464 lakh crore. With more than 3.9 crore active demat accounts and a presence in nearly every Indian PIN code and 186 countries, NSDL plays a key role in keeping the capital markets moving.
NSDL IPO: Structure – An exit, not a fundraise
Unlike many IPOs that raise fresh capital, NSDL’s issue is a pure offer for sale (OFS) of 5.01 crore shares by its existing shareholders. That means no new money is coming into the company. It is an opportunity for early backers to partially exit.
The price band of this mainboard issue has been fixed at Rs 760 to Rs 800 per share, with a minimum application size of 18 shares for retail bidders.
However, this is a standard structure, but what makes it interesting is the scale and the valuation. The IPO values the company at nearly Rs 16,000 crore, slightly below peer CDSL despite NSDL handling much larger volumes by value.
NSDL IPO: Big names already on board
Even before the IPO opened for public bidding on July 30, the response from institutional investors was strong. NSDL raised Rs 1,201 crore from anchor investors a day ahead of its official opening for bidding, pulling in interest from names like LIC, sovereign funds (including ADIA), and several global mutual funds.
NSDL IPO: Financial performance
Financially, for FY25, the company reported a revenue of Rs 1,535 crore and a net profit of Rs 343 crore. It generates free cash flow and has little debt on the books.
However, its operating margin stands at 24%, less than half of CDSL’s 53.2%. This is largely due to its focus on institutional clients and the high cost of maintaining a tech-heavy infrastructure. Still, NSDL holds over 85% of securities by number and more than 86% by value, giving it a dominant position in the backend of India’s stock markets.
NSDL IPO: Bet on India’s market infrastructure
Another reason why the public issue is most watched might be because of its nature of business. India’s depository landscape is a duopoly, regulated tightly by SEBI. There are only two players, that is, NSDL and CDSL and the cost and compliance barriers to entry are extremely high.
This gives NSDL a regulatory moat and long term stability. As more Indians take to stock investing and mutual funds, NSDL stands to gain from the sheer volume of transactions.
After the bidding process, the allotment of the shares is expected to be finalised on August 4, and the listing is scheduled on August 6.