HDFC fuels frenzy for unlisted NSDL shares

Retail investors bought shares as HDFC pared some stake over a year

- Ram Sahgal

Retail appetite for shares of National Securities Depository Ltd in the unlisted market over the past year was met in a significant way by HDFC Bank Ltd, one of the top six selling shareholders in NSDL's ₹4,011.6 crore initial public offering (IPO). The IPO, a pure offer for sale, will open on 30 July.

HDFC Bank was the only significant shareholder that pared its stake in NSDL by 1.99 million shares, or a percentage point, to 7.95% over a year through 23 July, when it filed its offer documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Returns for HDFC Bank at the upper end of NSDL's ₹760-800 offer band would be 702%, or ₹161 crore, as its weighted average cost of acquiring NSDL shares was ₹108.29 apiece on a fully diluted basis. In an offer for sale, promoters in a listed company sell their shares directly to the public.