- Fairfax India Holdings and Kotak Mahindra Bank have bid for government's IDBI Bank stake
- Government invited financial bids for strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank in January 2023
- Government plans to divest 30.48% stake; LIC to sell 30.24%, totaling 60.72% stake offered
Kotak Mahindra Bank and Fairfax India Holdings are among the bidders for the government's stake in IDBI Bank, sources told NDTV Profit on Friday.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has confirmed receiving bids for the disinvestment, without sharing details of those in the race.
The bids "will be evaluated as per the prescribed procedure", DIPAM said in an update shared on its official social media handle.
NDTV Profit had reported on Jan. 21 that the government had invited financial bids for the strategic disinvestment. The Centre aims to announce the winning bidder by March 2026, though the final closure of the transaction could extend beyond the current financial year.
Under the proposed transaction, the government plans to divest a 30.48% stake in IDBI Bank, valued at around Rs 36,000 crore at current market prices. In addition, the state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India will sell a 30.24% stake, taking the total stake on offer to 60.72%, with an estimated combined valuation of nearly Rs 72,000 crore.
The disinvestment process has been in motion since Jan. 7, 2023, when DIPAM received multiple expressions of interest from potential bidders.
Notably Emirates NBD announced its intention to acquire up to a 60% stake in RBL Bank for around $3 billion (about Rs 27,000 crore). In light of this transaction, market observers say Emirates NBD is no longer viewed as a likely contender for IDBI Bank.
As far as disinvestment proceeds are concerned, the Centre has not set a separate target for disinvestment. Proceeds from stake sales are now accounted for under the broader category of "miscellaneous capital receipts." In the current fiscal, disinvestment proceeds have amounted to just Rs 8,768 crore.
With both the government and LIC exiting a controlling stake, the IDBI Bank transaction is expected to be among the largest banking-sector privatisations in India, though timelines remain contingent on regulatory clearances and bidder preparedness.
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