Soach Global to partially exit NSE after decade-long investment

Soach Global is selling 20% of its decade-old stake in the National Stock Exchange of India through the exchange’s IPO, in a partial exit that could fetch about Rs 280-295 crore. The fund will retain the remaining 80% of its holding, which was originally acquired in 2016 and has since risen sharply in value following corporate actions.

The IPO is an offer for sale, meaning existing shareholders are selling their holdings and NSE itself is not raising fresh capital. By September 21, the issue had been subscribed 5.7x, with listing scheduled for September 24.

Soach’s investment dates back to January 2016, when it bought 1.5 lakh NSE shares from IFCI for Rs 59.25 crore. Corporate actions subsequently increased the holding to 82.5 lakh shares without further investment, reducing the adjusted acquisition cost to about Rs 71.8 a share.

At the IPO price band, the full holding would be worth about Rs 1,403-1,473 crore. That is roughly 24-25x the original cash outlay. The partial sale alone, however, is worth about 4.7-5x that original investment.

Anubhav Dayal, Founder and Director of Soach Global Opportunities Fund, framed the sale partly as a broadening of ownership. “Bharat is a fast-growing economy with a large number of growth-aspiring youngsters who are quickly learning the risks and rewards of participating in capital markets.”

He said the fund wanted more retail investors to own NSE either directly or through mutual funds. NSE said its unique registered investor base crossed 13 crore in April 2026, up from 12 crore in September 2025.

The case for holding the remaining stake also rests on NSE’s breadth and operating model.

Dayal said, “As a multi-asset-class trading platform, NSE will book growth in revenue while operating at a fixed cost, most of it already incurred. It is a high-technology platform settling trades in nanoseconds.”

NSE began electronic equity trading in 1994 and has since expanded beyond equities and debt into equity, currency, interest-rate and commodity derivatives, as well as indices, data and clearing services.

There are, however, important industry counterpoints. Derivatives have become central to exchange activity in India, but trading has recently come under greater regulatory scrutiny. Reuters reported that average daily equity derivatives turnover fell 27.1% in July 2026 to Rs 1,70,000 crore, its lowest level since November 2023.

SEBI has also been reviewing the Closing Auction Session and derivatives settlement methodology following volatility around expiry-day pricing.

Competition and product expansion are moving alongside those regulatory changes. Rival BSE has been drawing greater attention as a competitor in derivatives, while commodity exchange MCX has expanded its product range with Silver 100 futures in June and Crude Sunflower Oil futures in August.