Centre speeds up IDBI Bank disinvestment process; high-level panel holds two meetings

According to sources, the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) met twice during the day to review the progress of the transaction.

The Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) also participated in meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), alongside the CGD discussions, the sources said.

The government and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) are jointly looking to sell a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank as part of the strategic disinvestment process, sources added.

The back-to-back meetings indicate that the Centre is accelerating the decision-making process for the proposed transaction, although no official timeline for the completion of the stake sale has been announced.

In the meanwhile, the government is likely to accept the revised bid of Fairfax Financial Holding to buy the majority stake in IDBI, sources indicate.

Earlier this year the two bids , namely that of Fairfax Financial Holding and NBD Emirates were below the government’s reserve price.

It is likely the revised bid of Fairfax Financial is priced slightly higher , giving a fresh impetus to IDBI’s strategic disinvestment.