IDBI Bank Ltd. said it is "not in a position to either confirm or deny" media reports claiming the government is close to accepting a revised offer from Canada's Fairfax Financial for its stake in the lender.
In an exchange filing on Tuesday, the bank said it has not received any communication from the Government of India regarding the finalisation of any transaction under the ongoing strategic disinvestment process.
"The proposed Strategic Disinvestment of IDBI Bank Limited is a confidential process being undertaken by the Government of India (GOI) and, hence, IDBI Bank is not in a position to either confirm or deny the referenced news report," the bank said.
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The clarification came after stock exchanges sought the bank's response to a Business Standard report that claimed the government was close to accepting a sweetened offer from Fairfax Financial for IDBI Bank.
IDBI Bank also said it has no role to play in the bidding process or negotiations, noting that the government's strategic disinvestment is being carried out through a competitive bidding process.
"Such bidding processes do not entail negotiations and accordingly, IDBI Bank has had no role to play in the negotiations," the lender said.
The bank further said it is not aware of any undisclosed material information that could explain the news report or the recent movement in its share price.
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It added that any material information received from the government regarding the disinvestment process would be promptly disclosed to the stock exchanges in line with SEBI's listing regulations.
The lender also reiterated that it has kept investors informed of key milestones in the strategic sale process since the Cabinet's in-principle approval in May 2021, including the appointment of transaction advisers and subsequent regulatory approvals.
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