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By Gopika Gopakumar and Nikunj Ohri
MUMBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) – India’s federal government has set a February 5 deadline for financial bids for IDBI Bank as it looks to divest a majority of its holding in the lender, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The deadline has been communicated to bidders who are eligible for bidding, suggesting that the process of disinvestment in IDBI Bank has entered its final phase.
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The central bank had approved Fairfax Financial Holdings, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank as eligible bidders in 2024, Reuters had previously reported. The divestment process has been underway since then, with the government trying to finalize the details of the stake sale process.
The government had earlier said that it hoped to complete the stake sale process, which began in 2022, by March 2026.
The government, which owns 45.48% in IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender.
As part of the stake sale, the successful bidder will be allowed to rename the bank, a separate source familiar with the process said.
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IDBI Bank had to be rescued by the state-owned insurer in 2019 after a surge in bad loans at the lender.
An email sent to the federal finance ministry, under which the divestment process falls, was not immediately answered.
(Reporting by Gopika Gopakumar in Mumbai and Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi; Editing by Anil D’Silva)