NSE IPO opportunity: Five stocks holding unlisted NSE shares

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National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is India's largest stock exchange and a major market infrastructure institution. It was incorporated in 1992, received Securities and Exchange Board of India recognition in 1993 and commenced operations in 1994. It pioneered electronic, screen-based trading in India. NSE operates across equities, equity derivatives, currency and commodity derivatives, debt, indices, clearing, market data, and technology services. Its biggest strength is its dominant position in Indian equity and derivatives trading. In FY26, NSE had ₹16,601 crore of segment revenue and remained highly profitable. Its unique registered investor base reached 129.1 million, while 2,978 companies were listed on the exchange. NSE ranked among the top 15 global exchanges by the number of contracts traded in derivatives. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, NSE (including NSEIX) accounted for more than 36.99 billion equity derivatives contracts traded in FY26, ranking first globally by number of contracts traded. Having an unparalleled track record, India’s largest stock exchange is now launching an IPO. The public issue is eagerly awaited, as it has taken years to secure regulatory approvals. While the IPO date is not finalized, some reports suggest the NSE IPO could launch later this month. In this editorial, we look at five companies that could potentially make big profits by selling their shares in the IPO. State Bank of India (SBI) First on the list is SBI. The bank, headquartered in Mumbai, is India’s largest public sector bank and a systemically important lender. Established via the SBI Act in 1955 after nationalizing the Imperial Bank of India, it consolidated further in 2017 by merging with five associate banks. The bank operates over 22,500 branches serving 500 million customers. According to the draft red herring prospectus, SBI is selling up to 24,750,000 equity shares of face value of ₹1 each. The prospectus also highlights that SBI's weighted average cost for the NSE shares it’s selling is just ₹0.8 per equity share. This means SBI is making whopping returns over a span of three and a half decades for its holdings in NSE. Moving ahead, on the financial front, SBI’s net profit for Q1FY27 reached a record for any quarter at ₹21,121 crore, supported by healthy operating performance and disciplined cost management. Operating profit grew 9.77% year-on-year, while the domestic Net Interest Margin remained resilient at 3%. The balance sheet continued to expand with the total business crossing ₹110 trillion, while deposits exceeded the ₹60 trillion mark and advances crossed the ₹50 trillion mark. On the liability side, the bank maintained robust deposit growth in a highly competitive environment. According to the management, the CASA franchise remains one of the strongest in the industry, providing a stable and cost-effective funding base. Equally encouraging has been the sustained improvement in asset quality. Gross and net NPA ratios have further improved, remaining at their lowest levels in over two decades. Digital transformation continues to be an important differentiator for the bank. Customer adoption of the new YONO platform has been encouraging, with the digital acquisitions continuing to grow steadily. Looking ahead, management says they will continue to focus on improving the quality of growth alongside volume growth. They remain committed to maintaining a healthy balance between profitability, asset quality, capital efficiency and customer franchise. At the same time, they say the bank will continue to invest in technology, analytics, and AI to ensure SBI remains well-positioned to meet evolving customer expectations and the changing dynamics of the financial sector. Bank of Baroda Bank of Baroda is one of India’s top public-sector banks, with a strong domestic presence and operations across international markets. It has a diversified loan book spanning retail, agriculture, MSMEs and corporates. The bank has strengthened asset quality, improved profitability and maintained healthy capital levels over the last few years. Bank of Baroda is another PSU bank that is selling its shares in the NSE IPO. The bank is selling up to 10,986,250 equity shares of the exchange. It acquired the stake in NSE at an average weighted price of ₹0.54 per share. On the financial front for Q1FY27, Bank of Baroda reported an operating profit of ₹8,127 crore. The Bank had entered into an out-of-court settlement to resolve a legacy litigation issue of NMC Group. The liability of the bank in these proceedings was limited to the sum of $600 million, which was paid on 1 July 2026. The settlement amount has been debited to the profit and loss account for the quarter ended 30 June 2026. Therefore, the net profit of Bank of Baroda for Q1 FY27, after absorbing the impact of the settlement, stands at ₹1,278 crore. Without the impact of this exceptional item, net profit for the quarter would have been ₹5,528 crore. Coming to deposit growth, Bank of Baroda’s total deposits have grown by 13.8%, with international deposits growing by 8.9% and domestic by 14.7%. The domestic CASA deposits have grown by 10%, and term deposits have registered a growth of 17.8% on-year. As of 30 June 2026, the bank's domestic credit deposit ratio stands at 83.31%. The CASA ratio stands at 37.72%. The management has recently outlined guidance for the bank going forward. Accordingly, credit growth would remain at 12-14%. Deposit growth would be in the 10-12% range, while the net interest margin is estimated at 2.75%-2.95%. These numbers place the bank on a good footing going forward. General Insurance Corporation India (GIC Re) The company is a reinsurer and one of the leading reinsurance companies in emerging markets. It provides reinsurance across property, motor, health, marine, aviation and other segments, both in India and overseas. GIC is selling up to 10,658,000 equity shares in the NSE IPO. The weighted average cost of acquisition for these shares was ₹5.26 per share. Like other shareholders selling their stakes, GIC would also be making good returns from the sale of its stake in NSE. Moving to financials, gross premium income for Q1FY27 stood at ₹13,475 crore, up from ₹12,388 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Investment income for the quarter stood at ₹3,265 crore, vis-a-vis ₹3,313 crore in the corresponding period last year. Incurred claim ratio for the quarter was 85.04% against 90.42% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Combined ratio for the quarter stood at 104.88%, compared to 106.94% in the corresponding period last year. Profit after tax was ₹1,922 crore in Q1FY27. As far as the solvency ratio is concerned, it improved to 4.32 as on 30 June 2026, compared to 3.85 as on 30 June 2025. According to management, the quarter saw a marked improvement in key underwriting metrics. Lower claims experience and an improved combined ratio contributed to a meaningful reduction in underwriting losses. According to them, the improvement in operating performance reflected the continued benefits of portfolio actions undertaken over recent years and demonstrates the resilience of the business across market cycles. The management says that as they progress through FY27, the priorities remain centred on maintaining portfolio quality, prudent deployment of capital, and disciplined risk selection. According to them, while competitive intensity has increased across certain markets, GIC remains focused on opportunities that meet its return expectations and support sustainable value creation over the long term. IFCI Ltd IFCI is a systemically important non-deposit-taking NBFC in the public sector. It has a mandate to provide financial support for the diversified growth of Industries across the spectrum. IFCI also provides government advisory services and corporate advisory services. In a government advisory, IFCI has been appointed as a PMA for various PLI schemes launched under the aegis of “atmanirbhar bharat” by the Government of India. IFCI holds a 52% stake in Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL). SHCIL, in turn, owns around a 4.4% stake in the NSE. Stock Holding Corporation plans to sell up to 10,890,000 equity shares in NSE. So, IFCI will make an indirect profit in the NSE IPO through the stake of sale by SHCIL. IFCI's stock has been trending higher over the last few days amid news of the IPO. Being a government-controlled NBFC provides IFCI with strategic importance and access to opportunities linked to infrastructure and financial-sector initiatives. This reduces concerns about its long-term survival compared with many private NBFCs. IFCI has also developed ESG PRAKRIT as a technology platform for banks, financial institutions and corporates. It was launched in April 2026. The platform covers carbon footprint, financed emissions, ESG risk, climate risk, sustainability reporting, BRSR, ESG scoring, net-zero planning and carbon credits, among other areas. This potentially gives IFCI an additional fee-based business opportunity. IFCI is also the project management advisor for 10 out of the 14 Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. The New India Assurance Company Finally, we have New India Assurance Company. It’s a leading public sector general insurance company in India, mainly owned by the government of India. Founded by Sir Dorabji Tata in 1919, it was nationalized in 1973. New India Assurance boasts a diverse product portfolio, extending far beyond conventional offerings. The company provides complex, specialized coverage for large-scale operations, including aviation, marine, and property insurance for large risks. The New India Assurance Company would be selling up to 10,500,000 shares in NSE at the time of the IPO. The company had acquired these shares at an average price of ₹0.32. It’s among the companies with the lowest weighted-average acquisition price for NSE shares. On the financial front, the company performed well for FY26. During the period, Global Gross Written Premium (GWP) reached an all-time high of ₹ ₹47,174 crore, up from ₹43,618 crore in the previous fiscal year, with gross direct premium in India remaining at ₹42,831 crore. The domestic business outpaced the general insurance industry average, successfully reversing the recent trend of decreasing market share and expanding the company’s position from 12.56% to 12.74%. New India Assurance saw global profit after tax (PAT) registering an exceptional 40% growth for the full year to close at ₹1,384 crore, compared to ₹988 crore in FY25, catalysed largely by a phenomenal 61% spike in the fourth-quarter PAT, which reached ₹558 crore. In its annual report for FY26, management says it looks to FY27, with a business directive of “GO Retail” The company intends to continue to maintain its dominance in large-scale corporate risks, its next massive growth engine will be driven by the highly profitable, granular Retail and MSME segments. According to the management, the structural provisions of the new Insurance Act give it greater operational flexibility, which they intend to use to its fullest. New India Assurance is also expanding its presence in rural areas and Tier II and Tier-III towns, empowering its agent network to serve customers who have remained beyond the reach of formal insurance. Above is a list of 10 institutions that plan to sell shares in the forthcoming NSE IPO, along with their average cost of acquisition, taken from the draft red herring prospectus. Conclusion The proposed NSE IPO has brought listed companies holding unlisted NSE shares into focus, as the listing could unlock considerable value from these investments. However, investors should remember that the NSE IPO represents a one-time or temporary value-unlocking opportunity, and the benefit may already be partly reflected in some stock prices. While monetisation of NSE holdings can strengthen balance sheets and potentially improve valuations, it should not be the sole investment rationale. Investors should instead assess the underlying fundamentals of each company, including earnings growth, asset quality, return ratios, valuations, balance-sheet strength and dividend prospects. Happy investing. Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com