The planned sale of India’s state-owned IDBI Bank has attracted bids from Canadian investment group Fairfax Financial, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
The Indian government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender as part of a broader government privatisation programme. The government owns 45.48% of IDBI Bank, while LIC holds 49.24%.
The government has received bids for the bank, Divestment Secretary Arunish Chawla said on Friday, without disclosing details.
The bids will be evaluated as per the government’s stake sale process, Chawla said in a post on X.
The sale of IDBI was first announced in 2022, and the government plans to announce the buyer by March.
At the bank’s current market capitalisation of 1.14 trillion Indian rupees ($12.60 billion), the 60% stake would be worth over $7.5 billion. Reuters could not determine the value of the bids placed by potential buyers.
Fairfax, which already has a majority stake in India’s CSB Bank, will look to merge IDBI Bank with it if they win the bid, one of the sources said.
Kotak Mahindra Bank and Emirates NBD have also submitted bids, all three sources said.
The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Emails sent to India’s federal finance ministry, Fairfax, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank requesting comment were not immediately answered.
The government has previously said the sale will be concluded in the current financial year ending March 31, 2026. The successful bidder will be allowed to rename the bank, Reuters reported last week.
IDBI Bank had to be rescued by the state-owned insurer in 2019, after a surge in bad loans. Its share price has gained 26% in the last 12 months in anticipation of a sale.
Reuters
