Radhakishan Damani, along with other prominent investors buys stake in NCDEX; here’s why

Agri-commodity exchange National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is in the spotlight after the company successfully raised ₹770 crore from marquee investors, including Radhakishan Damani, Ramesh Damani, and Madhusudan Kela.

Radhakishan Damani, who is the founder and chairman of retail chain DMart, had participated in the preferential share issue of NCDEX, along with 60 other investors, which included institutional investors and HNIs.

US-based Citadel Securities Principal Investments, Tower Research Capital, private equity firm Acacia Partners, Globe Capital, online broking firms Zerodha and Groww, Share India Securities, and Jainam Broking were some of the key investors who subscribed to NCDEX preferential shares.

As per reports, NCDEX will use the funds to foray into the equity segment by launching its own stock market exchange to compete with NSE and BSE. The company will begin with the cash equity segment and later will scale its offerings into the derivative segment. Capital raised through this preferential issue will be used for platform and new product development, compliance and IT infrastructure.

In July 2025, the company received in-principle approval from the markets regulator, SEBI, to launch equity and equity derivatives trading. Earlier this year, the company’s board gave its nod to launch its equity offerings, which are part of the plan to diversify the business.

NCDEX is a commodity exchange that operates a platform for trading futures contracts of agricultural and some non-agricultural commodities like oilseeds, grains, pulses, and spices. Key financial and government entities like National Stock Exchange (NSE), LIC, NABARD, ICICI Bank and IFFCO are some of the key shareholders in NCDEX.