NSE grey market premium soars on Sebi’s IPO approval

Mumbai: The capital market regulator’s approval for National Stock Exchange’s much-awaited initial public offering has set the unofficial grey market abuzz. The grey market premium (GMP), the amount investors are willing to pay over the expected IPO issue price before listing, jumped to ₹250-280 per share soon after the regulatory nod on Friday evening, from around ₹150-180 earlier in the day, according to grey market brokers.

The company has yet to announce the IPO price or date, but traders expect the issue to hit the market towards the end of September. In the unlisted market, NSE shares were trading at around ₹1,975 apiece on Friday.

The unlisted price is the price at which a company’s existing shares change hands before listing, while the GMP is the premium investors are willing to pay over the IPO price, or expected issue price, for shares in the run-up to the listing. Grey market participants estimate the IPO size at around ₹30,000 crore, implying a market capitalisation of ₹5 lakh crore to ₹5.25 lakh crore.

Read more: From breaking barriers to picking stocks: Muriel Siebert’s investment wisdom

“The valuation at which the offering is priced will be critical to how the market responds,” said Manan Doshi, co-founder of Unlisted Arena. “If the pricing leaves adequate value on the table for investors, it could significantly enhance investor participation and create strong positive sentiment around the issue.”

NSE shares have remained largely flat in the unlisted market so far in 2026, weighed down by tepid market and a hit to derivatives volumes following the introduction of the closing auction session (CAS).
Traders said there was also little urgency to buy the shares ahead of the IPO, given that several large issues in recent years have eventually been priced at valuations well below those prevailing in the unlisted market.