Bank of Maharashtra Plans Rs 2,000-Crore QIP In FY26 To Cut Govt Stake

Bank of Maharashtra plans to raise at least Rs 2,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement or an offer for sale in the current financial year to reduce the government's stake in the bank to below or up to 75%, Chief Executive Officer Nidhu Saxena said on Monday.

The other objective behind this share sale is also that the state-owned bank aims to meet the Securities Exchange Board of India's minimum public shareholding norms.

"We will work it out, because as per the current prices, to comply with the SEBI norms, even at the current price, around Rs 2,000 crore should suffice," Saxena said on the sidelines of the FICCI-IBA banking conference.

Saxena said that the lender is evaluating various options, including OFS.

"That is definitely one of the priorities and some process from DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) has been initiated," he said.

Apart from reducing the government's stake in the bank, this fundraise will also help the bank in maintaining its capital adequacy to support further business growth.

Currently, the government's shareholding in the bank is at 79.6%, he said.

All listed companies need to have at least 25% free float publicly held shares, thus capping the promoter stake at 75%, according to SEBI's shareholding norms.

The divestment is part of the government’s initiative to pare its stake in five state-owned banks. The government has time till Aug. 1, 2026, to comply with the SEBI's public shareholding norms.

This development has come as Bank of Maharashtra had raised Rs 3,500 crore via a QIP in 2024-25. At that time, the bank witnessed strong interest from domestic as well as foreign investors.

On the business front, Saxena aims to grow the business at 15% in the current financial year, which includes the credit growth guidance at 17%.

He said that the bank has witnessed traction across segments, including retail, agriculture and corporate.