IFCI may sell stake in NSE

IFCI Ltd plans to sell its 5.44 per cent stake in the National Stock Exchange, the nation’s largest bourse, within two months, according to two company officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

The state-controlled financier, based in New Delhi, was negotiating with overseas private equity firms, one of the officials said, declining to comment before a public announcement. IFCI would use the proceeds for investments that offer higher returns, the official said, without providing details.

IFCI, which initially held a 12.44 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based bourse, sold seven per cent to Goldman Sachs Group Inc, NYSE Group Inc, General Atlantic LLC and Softbank Asian Infrastructure Fund in 2007.

The financier expected to raise about Rs 6,000 crore ($128 million) from the latest sale, the second company official said. That would value the exchange at about $2.4 billion.

The bourse’s other existing investors include Temasek Holdings Pte, which bought a five per cent stake from NYSE Euronext in May for $175 million.