BSE has said its initial public offer will be completed before May deadline.

"We will complete the transformation within May 2007 and are talking to select foreign exchanges for a possible partnership," Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd managing director and CEO Rajnikant Patel said.

The exchange has appointed Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Kotak Securities as its merchant bankers for the proposed IPO. For valuation, the exchange is banking on its "strong brand" Sensex. The index's derivative turnover now accounts for 18-19 per cent of its total turnover.

Patel, however, did not name the exchanges with whom consultations were on and refused to give a timeframe by which the talks would be over.

To a question on whether the exchange has conducted a valuation, Patel said the Sensex was a good brand and the number of deals reported were also high in the recent times.

A strategic partner would give BSE a higher valuation, Patel acknowledged.

"We are also doing Rs 500-600 crore (Rs 5-6 billion) on the derivatives front in the last four-five months," he said when asked of the bourse's performance on the new product front.