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IDBI Bank
The government may consider selling a stake in IDBI Bank through the Offer-for-Sale (OFS) route to increase public shareholding, after the unsuccessful attempt to divest stake in the LIC-controlled lender, sources said. Currently, the public float in IDBI Bank is only 5.29 per cent, limiting the scope of fair valuation. The remaining shares are with insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), with a controlling stake at 49.24 per cent, while the Government of India (GoI) holding stood at 45.48 per cent. Earlier this month, the proposed sale of a 60.72 per cent majority stake, held jointly by the government and the LIC, was scrapped after financial bids from two potential buyers reportedly fell short of the reserve price. Low free float restricts the scope for fair market valuation, and expanding this by 10 per cent or 15 per cent would make price discovery more reliable, sources said. It can provide a reliable benchmark for valuation and further make the price ..
The strategic sale of IDBI Bank is likely to have been scrapped as the financial bids put in by potential buyers were below the reserve price, sources said on Friday. The government and LIC were together looking to sell 60.72 per cent in IDBI Bank and had floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) in October 2022. Financial bids came in on February 6. Sources said the financial bids for the IDBI Bank strategic sale have come in lower than the reserve price set by the inter-ministerial group on disinvestment headed by secretaries in the finance ministry. According to sources, the bids for IDBI Bank have been opened and they were below the reserve price set by the IMG and agreed to by the core group on disinvestment, which is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Prem Watsa-led Fairfax and Emirates NBD are reported to have put in bids for the strategic sale of IDBI Bank. Currently, the government and state-owned LIC together hold a 94.71 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. The government owns 45.